2017
Photo illustration • Caroline Norris
Volume 133 Issue 2
utdailybeacon.com @utkdailybeacon
Thursday, January 19, 2017
2017FADS&TRENDS
The Daily Beacon • Thursday, January 19, 2017
2
THE DAILY BEACON STAFF
EDITORIAL
Editor-in-Chief: Bradi Musil Managing Editor: Megan Patterson Chief Copy Editor: Hannah Moulton News Editor: Tom Cruise Asst. News Editor: Chris Salvemini Sports Editor: Trenton Duffer Asst. Sports Editor: Rob Harvey Engagement Editor: Millie Tunnel Digital Producer: Altaf Nanavati Opinons Editor: Presley Smith Special Projects Editor: Jenna Butz Photo Editor: Laura Altawil Design Editors: Lauren Ratliff, Caroline Norris Production Artists: Laurel Cooper, Rachel Incorvati, Hannah Jones, Oliva Licherman, Jenna Mangalindan, Lauren Mayo
ADVERTISING/PRODUCTION
Student Advertising Manager: Amber Wilson Media Sales Representatives: Zenobia Armstrong, Harley Gorlewski Advertising Production: Aubrey Andrews, Tim Rhyne Classified Adviser: Liz Bohner
Dear Reader, It’s been an interesting year, to say the least. The Taylor Swift and Kanye West feud finally reached its boiling point. Someone solved the mystery of the Zodiac killer. Prince, Bowie and Carrie Fischer left us all behind (as well as like 100 other celebrities). The Kardashians continued to be famous, and nothing at all happened concerning the wizarding world of Harry Potter. Yes, all in all, it felt like 2016 kicked us all while we were already down. But instead of looking back, we’re looking forward. It’s 2017 after all, and whatever this year has in store for us, we want to head into it prepared (No matter which beloved musicians or awesome female role models it takes from us). That’s why the Daily Beacon’s first special issue of this semester is all about fads and trends and whatever 2017 has in store. It’s looking at what from 2016 will continue to take shape in 2017 and what new trends will take over the new year. After all, you don’t want to miss out on the biggest influencers of this year. In this issue, you’ll see us figure out what social media celebrities even are (and they become one), why we love memes so much, how you even start a (successful) Whole30 diet and which fashion trends are in and out for 2017. Then, if you follow us online, we’ve got even more about how hipsters manage to be both mainstream and indie, why quitting cold turkey isn’t as ballsy at it sounds or if all those budgeting apps even work. We went in, we questioned these trends we follow and love so religiously and we found out why these fads hold special places in our hearts—or why we can’t help but give into them.
Jenna Butz
CONTACTS To report a news item, please e-mail editor.news@utdailybeacon.com or call 865-974-2348 To submit a press release, please e-mail pressreleases@utdailybeacon.com To place an ad, please e-mail beaconads@utk.edu or call 865-974-5206 To place a classified ad, please e-mail orderad@utdailybeacon.com or call 865-974-4931 Advertising: (865) 974-5206 beaconads@utk.edu Classifieds: (865) 974-4931 orderad@utdailybeacon.com Editor-in-Chief: (865) 974-2348 editorinchief@utdailybeacon.com Main Newsroom: (865) 974-3226 editorinchief@utdailybeacon.com LETTERS POLICY: Letters to the Editor must be exclusive to The Daily Beacon and cannot have been submitted to or published by other media. Letters should not exceed 400 words and can be edited or shortened for space. Letters can also be edited for grammar and typographical errors, and Letters that contain excessive grammatical errors can be rejected for this reason. Anonymous Letters will not be published. Authors should include their full name, mailing address, city of residence, phone number and e-mail address for verification purposes. Letters submitted without this information will not be published. The preferred method to submit a Letter to the Editor is to email the Editor-in-Chief at editorinchief@utdailybeacon.com . CORRECTIONS POLICY: It is the Daily Beacon’s policy to quickly correct any factual errors and clarify any potentially misleading information. Errors brought to our attention by readers or staff members will be corrected and printed on page two of our publication. To report an error please send as much information as possible about where and when the error occurred to managingeditor@utdailybeacon.com, or call our newsroom at (865) 974-5206. The Daily Beacon is published by students at The University of Tennessee Monday through Friday during the fall and spring semesters and Wednesday during the summer semester. The offices are located at 1340 Circle Park Drive, 11 Communications Building, Knoxville, TN 37996-0314. The newspaper is free on campus and is available via mail subscription for $200/year, $100/semester or $70/summer only. It is also available online at: www.utdailybeacon.com
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2017 Predictions
1
Seaweed, swiss chard or cauliflower — the new kale (probably)
3
Harissa — spicy hot chili pepper paste (the new sriracha)
5
“Authentic” Mexican cuisine — I’m talkin’ corn tortillas, people
2
Artificial Intelligence — Alexa, bring me a beer (not yet, but soon probably)
4
Autonomous cars — think Will Smith in IRobot
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Gourmet Mac ‘N Cheese — a healthier, fancier version of your favorite comfort food
2017FADS&TRENDS
Thursday, January 19, 2017 • The Daily Beacon
Fashion forward: What’s in, out for 2017
3
With each New Year comes a fresh start. Resolutions are made, diets are started, and people begin searching for new ways to show off their “new year, new me” selves. Cleaning out one’s closet and donning new threads has often been a way to symbolically shed the year before. It has been said, after all, that clothes make the man (or woman). So what better way to show off the new you than with a new style? The Daily Beacon looked to members of POSE at UT and fashion magazine giants, like Elle and Vogue, for “what’s in” and “what’s out” for 2017. It’s time to purge those clothes that reek of 2016 and add some fresh 2017 style to your closet. Written by: Hannah Moulton, Copy Chief
What’s In
1 3
Stripes “Stripes are coming back for the kill,” Shan Carlisle, fashion director of POSE, says. The timeless pattern dominated 2016 and will continue to do so in 2017. Both Allure and Elle are calling that stripes will be on everything from chunky sweaters to flowing skirts. Be careful not to go too big with them though, pinstripes are your safest bet. Khaki That’s right; the same material your ugly school uniforms were made from will be all the rage in 2017. Look for it in everything: pants, jackets, dresses. No article of clothing is off-limits for the beige fabric. Vogue even went as far as saying “the more beige the better.”
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Platforms With sneakers dominating 2016, designers decided to shake 2017 up by giving their shoes a lift. Platform shoes have been seen gracing the runways and will soon be adorning the feet of anyone who’s tired of getting their heels stuck in the mud. Slogans Logos were everywhere last year. This year, however, is all about making a statement that actually means something. T-shirts with messages like “We Should All Be Feminists” and “be your own hero” were seen in multiple fashion shows for spring 2017. And after a year like 2016, we could all use some empowering messages.
What’s Out
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The Lingerie Look Kim Kardashian coined this look in 2016, and then suddenly it was everywhere. But now it’s time to trade in the slip dress for a dress with a bit more form to it.
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Crocs You might be laughing. “Crocs went out of style forever ago,” you might be saying. But I regret to inform you that Crocs, granted a semi-dressed up version, were seen on the runway in designer Christopher Kane’s spring show. So, regardless of what’s seen in a fashion show, some things are made to be forgotten, or burned and scattered in a Walmart parking lot where they belong.
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Heels higher than 5 inches You can now retire those six-inch stilettos that make your feet bleed five minutes into wearing them, because people are trading in their skinny, towering heels for a shoe with a low, flat surface like sneakers or a high, flat surface like platforms.
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Stretchy skinny jeans Stretchy, low-rise skinny jeans have ruled over the denim world for quite a while, but now the style is moving towards more classic-style jeans with higher waists. For guys, Carlisle says “please just stick to joggers.”
2017FADS
The Daily Beacon • January 19, 2017
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#Hopefuls:Insights into the daily Bradi Musil
Editor-in-Chief
In 2016, the most liked post on Instagram was a photo of Selena Gomez drinking a coke. The caption read: “when your lyrics are on the bottle” with a tongue face emoji and the hashtag “ad.” The picture received 6.2 million likes and almost 250,000 comments. While there’s no denying the photo’s pleasant aesthetic, it’s these kinds of depthless posts that internet celebrity Branden Harvey said led to the rise of positivity pumping social media superstars in 2016. After being nominated for two Shorty Awards for “Snapchatter of the Year” and titled 17 magazine’s favorite storyteller, Harvey said his emergence as an internet celebrity was a happy accident. “Pretty quickly, I learned that when you put things out in the world, people will pay attention to it,” Harvey, who was working as a photographer after high school when he began posting his photos online, said. “I just started figuring out ways to do that and add value to posts, and then along came Instagram.” Using the photo-oriented app, Harvey said he looked for ways to tell the unique stories of real people, and having recently moved to Portland, Oregon, the quirky, avant-garde city provided perfect material. “I started documenting the lives of people who I found inspiring through photos and captions, and doing that got me noticed by the right people,” Harvey said, explaining that before long, Instagram
took notice of his account and suggesting it to new users. Now, Harvey has more than 100,000 followers on Instagram, and he travels the world partnering with corporations like Disney, Yoplait, Hilton and Chevrolet as well as non-profits to share individual and uplifting stories on social media. By allowing Harvey the ability to immediately highlight extraordinary moments and people around the world, apps like Instagram and Snapchat have reinvented a new form of journalism in many ways. According to Harvey, almost every social media user operates as a media outlet today. “When there’s something important happening around the world, I really want to acknowledge that,” he said, noting that for the first election season ever, people really began to take note of the celebrities who remained silent and those who championed the causes and candidates they believed in. The term “digital activist” also emerged in the past year, and Harvey said that although he spends a large part of his time partnering with non-profits and humanitarian organizations in Africa and Asia, his time spent sharing stories on social media seems to have a larger impact. “You could almost make the argument that that’s (volunteering) not as affective as me using my voice online to rally people to all take action together, and I would be honored to continue being known as a digital activist, and I hope to live up to it as well,” Harvey said. While Harvey’s story may not be the norm for people who try to promote either a personal or community message on social media, apps like Instagram and Snapchat have shown that there is more than enough room for all kinds of “influencers.”
University of Tennessee’s own Molly Swientoniewski, a junior in supply chain, is one such example. Swientoniewski started college at UT as a microbiology major with a zeal for fashion. Similar to Harvey, her introduction into internet celebrity happened somewhat by accident. Swientoniewski was on a beach trip with her friends when she posted a photo to Instagram and decided on a whim to tag the brands she was wearing. “I just thought, like, ‘Oh, it would be fun to tag the brand that I was wearing –– they’ll never see it, whatever,’” she said. “But they did see it, and they actually reposted it.” Excited by the popularity of her post, Swientoniewski began making a habit of tagging brands, and soon she was contacted about becoming a brand ambassador. By October of her freshman year, she was partnering with multiple companies, changing her major to focus on marketing, retail and consumer science and gaining thousands of followers. “I was taking CHEM 120 and I was just like, I hate this,” Swientoniewski said. “I love science, but studying it is ruining it for me. So, I decided to do a 180 twist. I changed my major to business exploratory and decided to do supply chain and marketing and never looked back.” Now, Swientoniewski has over 12,000 followers and a fashion blog, Golly Miss Molly, which just turned two this past New Year. For both Harvey and Swientoniewski, they said gaining notice on social media mirrors the domino affect: share posts that people care about and get noticed by the right people, and, eventually, the follower count will rise. Swientoniewski said she’s got the strategies to effective posting — frequency, time of day, day of the week — down to a science, and Harvey said he likewise keeps track of such
&TRENDS
January 19, 2017 • The Daily Beacon
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lives of social media celebrities methods. Ultimately though, Harvey said it’s more about the content of the post than the time of day it’s shared. “The stuff that’s important will always bubble to the top,” he said. “From a really practical standpoint, if there’s something that’s really meaningful to me, then I just ask people to share it. “When you actually believe in something, then you ask people to take action on it, then they’re far more likely to say ‘yes,’ because it’s something you put your heart and soul into.” Harvey said when he realized how popular his accounts were growing, he began to take his posting more seriously. After being recognized several times in public, Harvey said he realized his responsibility to share posts deliberately and responsibly. “How can I use this world of influencer-marketing for good? How can I — using these platforms — make an impact on people’s lives?” Harvey said. “I got to start hearing people’s stories and hearing what they really connected with and why they connected with it, and it gave me a whole new motivation for what I do.” Traveling to places like Zimbabwe, Israel, the Philippines and Rwanda, Harvey began sharing what he titled “story portraits.” Since first starting his career on Instagram, Harvey’s platforms have grown to include Snapchat, a blog, a podcast and email newsletter — something he called a little “weird” and “old-school” but has thousands of subscribers. The “Goodnewsletter” sends out a weekly letter containing five pieces of good news from around the world, and his podcast “Sounds Good with Branden Harvey” hosts discussions with other “influencers” about how to remain hopeful
How can I use this world of influencer-marketing for good? How can I -- using these platforms make an impact on people’s lives? I got to start hearing people’s stories and hearing what they really connected with and why they connected with it, and it gave me a whole new motivation for what I do.”
despite the many difficulties plaguing the world today like racial injustice, poverty, food insecurity and mental illness. “We’re trying to have not-cheesy conversations about hope ... When you look back at what 2016 was like,” Harvey said, “I think people are really craving that.” Connecting with people is also the motivation that keeps Swientoniewski going even when she said running a multithousand follower Instagram account and blog can feel like a full-time job. “Sometimes when I get really stressed out about it, it does feel like I’ve turned a hobby and my interests into a job or a class,” Swientoniewski said, “but when I receive emails and someone took the time out of their day to notice me, it really makes my day. “So, it’s definitely worth it.” While Instagram, Snapchat and blog sites have certainly provided a viable platform for amateur celebrity, the ques-
Branden Harvey, social media influencer
tion remains on whether such mediums are sustainable. Every few months, a new network emerges, dominating conversations and drawing attention away from the apps we’ve grown accustomed to. While Swientoniewski said she hopes to continue using whatever social media platform she can to stay connected with her audience, Harvey said he’s staying focused on the what he can accomplish now with the community he’s built. “My favorite thing over the past year has just been focusing on the good in the world, and it think people have really rallied behind this idea, which is surprising because 2016 felt like a rough year,” Harvey said. “My goal last year was kind of to create a community and build it up around an idea that really mattered to me and mattered to them. “My goal for 2017 is to lead them and take them somewhere and for all of us, in some respect, become digital activists together.” • The Daily Beacon does not own the rights to any of these images
The Daily Beacon • Thursday, January 19, 2017
6
The Daily Beacon’s Guide to Fad Diets
Atkins Diet
Vegan
Atkins is a diet you have most likely heard of, thanks to Kim K. It’s a low-carb diet that usually leads to quick weight loss. The idea is to give up delicious pastas and breads in exchange for as much protein and fat as you want. Most people are not messin’ around when they try to tackle this diet to achieve that summer bod.
Veganism is another popular diet that is stickin’ around to the disappointment of many. Vegans are similar to vegetarians and do not eat meat, fish or poultry. However, they also do not use other animal products and by-products such as eggs, dairy products, honey, leather, fur, silk, wool, cosmetics and soaps derived from animal products.
A lot of people are gluten-free due to celiac disease or an intolerence, but it’s becoming more common for people to cut out gluten for other reasons. Supposively, going gluten-less can help with digestion issues, bloating, energy, weight loss and reduce other health risks.
Why you’ll quit: This tough diet is not for the weak-willed. Many fail because they jump into this lifestyle to quick without easing in. Also, many do it for the image, which is not a great reason to stick to a major lifestyle change compared to some people who do it for moral or ethical reasons.
Why its not worth it: Most of the health benefits of going gluten free come from being forced to eat more fruits and veggies. Additionally, cutting out gluten can help you develop an intolerence if you didn’t have one before. Just eat less bread and call it a day.
What’s gonna happen: NO BREAD. This strict diet is hard to keep up and is not healthy in the long run since you are missing out on your fruits and natural sugars. Plus, no bread. I don’t even understand.
Gluten-Free
Whole 30 The Whole30 diet cuts out a whole bunch of delicious foods for a month with the promise that your body will heal and recover from anything that might be messing it up. This includes sugar, alcohol, all grains, legumes and dairy. If you make it 30 days, the creators of the diet say you’ll have changed your life for the better. What’s gonna happen: One slip up and you’ve ruined all the alleged benefits the diet promises. Additionally, you aren’t allowed to make heathy versions of banned foods, so you can’t even have a fake brownie. -Laurel Cooper, Editorial Production
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PUZZLES&GAMES
Thursday, January 19, 2017 • The Daily Beacon
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STR8TS No. 922
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SUDOKU No. 922
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2017FADS&TRENDS
The Daily Beacon • Thursday, January 19, 2017
8
Memes make bigger impact than we realize Trenton Duffer
Sports Editor It’s near impossible to go on social media anymore without seeing a meme of Donald Trump or a changed Hollywood sign. Even head football coach Butch Jones was a meme victim when he released his now infamous “Champions of Life” speech. But these are only memes that have been popular over the past few months. Bad Luck Brian, Good Guy Greg, Fry from Futurama’s “Shut up and take my money” and “One Does Not Simply” have all remained popular throughout the years. So, how do simple pictures on the Internet relate to an entire populous of human beings? Misty Anderson, professor in English, said memes actually draw “pretty deep linguistic tendencies” in all of our brains that “connect signifiers (words) to signifieds (things or concepts).” “They let us make up little units of language and invite others to share our language,” Anderson said. “Memes also, in the way jokes do, give us a jolt of pleasure when we get a connection that is a bit surprising … Memes that feature recognizable people can prey on our desire to feel superior, sometimes in destructive or cruel ways. “A more innocent version of that pleasure is recognizing ‘grumpy cat’ and then laughing at a new grumpy cat meme.” Memes have actually been around since 1976 in Richard Dawkins’ book “The Selfish Gene.” Back then, Dawkins described “memes” as a type of cultural phenomenon that can be passed from person to person. Lisa King, an assistant professor of rhetoric, said Dawkins used the metaphor of genes to explain how memes can be replicated, mutated and passed on and that it all may be influenced by “natural selection.” “The idea is controversial – how do you define a cultural unit – but the idea has
power and has spawned considerable academic study,” King said. “There’s even a field that developed in the 1990s called ‘memetics.’” Nowadays, memes have taken a bit of a different meaning. They’re now used on social media and all across the Internet to describe politics, pop culture references, sports and other social issues. But King still says that memes replicate, mutate and pass on ideological concepts just like Dawkins explained. “The major difference that Dawkins sees with Internet memes is that they are less influenced by some kind of natural selection and are more influenced by human creativity,” King said. “We manipulate these ideas and images on purpose.” The year 2016 was a prime example of King’s explanation. “Human creativity” churned out multiple memes across the Internet, from Evil Kermit to Damn Daniel to Harambe. And who could forget Arthur’s Fist? However, Anderson said that although most memes are “just playful,” they also can be “powerful.” “Memes ask us to relate two things that may or may not be related, much as rhymes do,” Anderson said. “We can know that something isn’t true because it’s a meme, but our brains work through associations, and those associations accumulate. It’s important to be aware of the kinds of associations, positive or negative, that memes can normalize.” Memes aren’t just a category on Tumblr and Imgur anymore. They’ve impacted the way humans view certain issues and have shaped a different form of humor. Memes bring everyone together, and according to Anderson, we should get used to them. “A big part of the pleasure, though, is that you know you are ‘in’ on a joke with other people,” she said. “My guess is that memes are here for a while.”
• The Daily Beacon does not own the rights to any of these images