0 2 . 2 3 . 1 7 / F R E E E V E RY T H U R S D AY
FROM FRAT TO FRET The Motel Brothers grew out of a fraternity house and into The Blue Note PAGE 7
LET’S GET CRITICAL Critics share why the True/False Film Fest is a place for discovery and community PAGE 18
FRANCIS QUADRANGLE, 1987. INSIDE THE SHANTIES THEY BUILT, STUDENTS FOUGHT A UNIVERSITY PROFITING FROM APARTHEID — AND WON. THIS IS THE STORY OF HOW A CAMPUS LEARNED EMPATHY. PAGE 8
Major Jack Watring with UMC police calls officers for backup at the shantytown. He told the protesters that staying in their shanties would result in arrest.
After the shantytowns were torn down, the group’s leader Carla Weitzel said the protesters would put up a sign reading “This is the past and future site of the shantytown.”
IN THIS ISSUE
FEATURE In October 1986, MU students built shantytowns on Francis Quadrangle as they protested for MU to divest millions of dollars from businesses in South Africa during apartheid. This is the story of 41 students, from all backgrounds, who led a fight for the rights of all. PAGE 8 NEWS & INSIGHT Organizations around Columbia have held marches, meetings and discussions after Trump’s election to encourage the community to come together and be politically active. But what comes next? PAGE 4 MUSIC For those who can’t decide if they want a night in or a night out, the happy medium is found in house shows. Vox explores how to host a house show, how to play at one and how to attend the low-key but high-energy performances. PAGE 6 THE SCENE The co-owners of Inflatable Canvas are the life of the party as they bring costumes, face painting and, of course, balloon animals to events around Columbia. PAGE 19 ARTS & BOOKS Setting Free the Kites by acclaimed local author Alex George delves into an unlikely friendship between two young boys in 1970s Maine. This book review focuses on how George captivates his audience with an emotional tale of the boys’ adventures and individuality in a way that every reader can relate. PAGE 21
ONLINE
FEBRUARY 23, 2017 VOLUME 19 ISSUE 6 | PUBLISHED BY THE COLUMBIA MISSOURIAN
PORTRAITS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD International students showed off traditional food and crafts on Feb. 18 at the Mizzou International Welcome Party. Dive into a gallery of portraits of the international students, and read their answers to the question: “What do you want this campus to know about you?” ARE YOU FUR REAL? New York Fashion Week is filled with fur coats. What are the implications of wearing a fur coat in Columbia? Will you look like a diva? And, honestly, is that the point? We let you know the best way to wear fur without seeming too extra. MAKE YOUR LIFE YOUR STORY Spectacles are glasses designed by Snap Inc. and specifically made for Snapchat. With video cameras built into the sides, you can take your view and post it directly to Snapchat. One Vox writer rented the glasses to see what it’s like to use them.
EDITOR’S LETTER
Q&A As the events director for Bleu Events, Nathan Todd has grown and changed alongside the catering company as he worked his way up from being a cater waiter and shop boy to helping the business as it continues to expand. PAGE 22 Corrections: The Feb. 16 issue should have stated that Centro Latino Executive Director Eduardo Crespi still owns the farm where he taught refugees landscaping skills.
COVER DESIGN: ELIZABETH SAWEY COVER PHOTO: MISSOURIAN ARCHIVES
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Apartheid isn’t something I learned about in school. The first time I heard the word was when my rugby-playing sister told me she wanted to see Invictus, the story of the South African rugby team and its relationship with Nelson Mandela during the 1995 Rugby World Cup. It became one of my favorite films, but it also was the extent of my education on those decades of political and social history and oppression. While reading the feature in this week’s issue, I realized just how little I know, not only about the history of Apartheid in South Africa, but also about the history of protests on MU’s campus. Demonstrations against inequality in our recent history included makeshift shelters full of students, but Concerned Student 1950 was not the first group to take this approach. Thirty years earlier another group, Missourians Against Apartheid, camped out on Francis Quadrangle with signs and shanties and made their voices heard as they spoke against a racist ideology and the UM system’s involvement in it. This week’s feature (Page 8) revisits the actions of Missourians Against Apartheid and the ways MU’s history with protesters weaves into its present and future. The photos you will see in this feature are from the Missourian archives. They seem familiar — many are reminiscent of 2015. Take some time to look into the past. Our current climate of protests by people of all political parties is nothing new. We’ve been here before; it’s how we move forward that determines whether change happens.
VOX STAFF Editor: Christine Jackson Deputy Editor: Dan Roe Managing Editor: Madison Fleck Creative Director: Madalyne Bird Digital Managing Editor: Abby Holman Art Directors: Mary Hilleren, Elizabeth Sawey Photo Editor: Annaliese Nurnberg Online Editor: Lea Konczal Multimedia Editor: Mitchel Summers News & Insight Editors: Madelyne Maag, Elaina Steingard, Jing Yang The Scene Editors: Lauren Kelliher, Alyssa Salela, Danielle Zoellner Music Editors: John Heniff, Taylor Ysteboe Arts & Books Editors: Claudia Guthrie, Renee Molner, Zachary Van Epps Contributing Writers: Corin Cesaric, Gerard Edic, Emily Hannemann, Max Havey, Lis Joyce, Meghan Lally, Rick Morgan, Rachel Phillips, Jessica Rendall, Karlee Renkoski, Tyler Schneider, Kelsie Schrader, Erika Stark, Samantha Stokes, Catherine Wheeler Editorial Director: Heather Lamb Executive Editor: Jennifer Rowe Digital Director: Sara Shipley Hiles Writing Coach: Berkley Hudson Office Manager: Kim Townlain
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PHOTOS BY OR COURTESY OF LILY OPPENHEIMER AND MISSOURIAN ARCHIVES
RADAR
Vox’s take on the talk of the week
Written by: Claudia Guthrie, Zachary Van Epps, Jing Yang, Danielle Zoellner
Thimble, do not pass “Go”
I’VE GOT A BONE TO PICK
Forget your horoscope. What does your Monopoly piece say about you? Fans of Monopoly have voted. And the thimble is so last year. If that was your go-to piece, you’re out of luck.
Today is International Dog Biscuit Appreciation Day, and this farce of a holiday is a slap in the face to felines everywhere. The biscuits don’t even taste good! What, “man’s best friend” isn’t good enough for you? You need a worldwide holiday for your dry milkbones as well? International Catnip Appreciation Day, on the other paw, has a nice ring to it ...
• If the car is your token of choice, you live a versatile and constantly on-the-move life. • If the dog makes you bark with joy, you’re trustworthy and playful. • If you always don the top hat, you have a passion to look good and play well, too. These pieces might not fit your fancy anymore once the newest one reveals itself in March. We can’t wait to see if the rubber duck, TV or emoji of Mr. Monopoly wins.
UP FOR OSCARS
THIS GRILL IS ON FIREEEEEEE
It’s perfect weather for a BBQ, but watch out. Dry air is also perfect for catching fire. Boone county continues to be under a heightened fire danger, so don’t forget to keep your eye on the grill.
Causes of residential building fires nationally resulting in injury in 2014:
37.2% Cooking 8.4% Open flame
incidents in Columbia from 35 Fire Feb. 18 –19 Causes of fires resulting in most of residential building fires dollar loss per capita 2014: are caused by 50% nationally 28% Cooking cooking
Trolls – Original Song (Who can’t stop feeling this one?)
Sources: como.gov, usfa.fema.gov, weather.gov
KOPN 89.5fm...Where Else?
The Academy Awards are Sunday, and we can’t wait to see if La La Land or Moonlight will be named Best Picture. But along with the critical darlings, there are some notas-acclaimed films that managed to snag a nod or two. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them – Costume Design, Production Design (We love 1920s New York garb) Suicide Squad – Makeup and Hairstyling (Just refer to all the Harley Quinns you saw last Halloween) Sully – Sound Editing (It feels like this came out two years ago)
All-inclusive living in the heart of campus for Mizzou students.
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Live on campus this Fall! Sign up, move in and we’ll credit $500 to your student account.*
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On your radio dial at 89.5 fm or live streaming at kopn.org PHOTOS OR ILLUSTRATIONS BY OR COURTESY OF FLATICON, MADALYNE BIRD, PIXABAY, ROTTEN TOMATOES, WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
*Get offer details at
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NEWS & INSIGHT President Trump’s inauguration brought nationwide divisions to the spotlight, and a tense relationship between the split American public transcends political ideologies. Fear, sadness and discomfort have no political party. However divisive, the country’s new leadership has brought people and communities together. Five local organizations shared what they are doing to promote discussion in Columbia. sierra club missouri chapter
Mission: The Sierra Club aims to protect the planet by influencing public policy and encouraging people to explore and enjoy nature, according to the group’s website. Its goal right now is to bring the community together to resist some of Trump’s agenda and to encourage leaders to take action against climate change, Vice Chair Carolyn Amparan says. What its up to: The group has organized and participated in several solidarity marches around Columbia as part of the new 24-organization Mid-Missouri Solidarity Network. It has also opposed Trump’s cabinet nominations, some of whom don’t believe climate change requires immediate action. To achieve its goals: “We want to help people stay organized to fight the things that we feel are not consistent with American values” by continuing active involvement in the solidarity network, Amparan says.
Local organizations react to a president with plans BY KELSIE SCHRADER
Learn more or get involved: Call: (314) 644-1011 Online: sierraclub.org/missouri
Protesters on both the left and right ends of the political spectrum are speaking out against new policies.
columbia pachyderm club
Mission: To “promote education and active citizen
involvement in politics” in order to erase political corruption and improve government responsiveness, according to the club’s website. Former Vice President Pamela Anderson says the group doesn’t endorse any candidate. The group’s primary goal is to educate. To achieve its goals: The club holds weekly meetings and open forums with community speakers and invites the public to attend meetings. Speakers have included politicians, school board members and members of the public. What it’s up to: The group plans to continue its weekly meetings. It’s also embracing different technologies, such as an app, to reach younger people and encourage them to become more politically active. Learn more or get involved: Call: 449-6360 Online: pachyderms.org/clubs/columbia-pachyderm -club.php columbia area now
Mission: To promote women’s rights by focusing on intersectional feminism — feminism that accounts for people of all identities — says Eleanore Etzler, one of the organization’s members. What it’s up to: The group, which is part of the Mid-Missouri Solidarity Network, co-sponsored the January Women’s March in Columbia. Group members also attended a town hall meeting Feb. 2 to voice concerns to local officials. Etzler says the meeting allowed local officials to build a direct connection between officers and citizens group’s concerns. To achieve its goals: Columbia Area NOW is working with Missouri NOW to plan a lobbying day in April for members to discuss their thoughts on upcoming bills
National Symphony of Ukraine 7 p.m. March 12, Jesse Auditorium
RAIN: A Tribute to the Beatles 7 p.m. March 14, Jesse Auditorium
Third Coast Percussion 7 p.m. Feb. 17, Missouri Theatre Kannapolis: A Moving Portrait 7 p.m. Feb. 11, Missouri Theatre
Shaolin Warriors
7 p.m. March 15, Missouri Theatre
Show-Me Opera: Our Town March 10-11, Missouri Theatre
Annie 7 p.m. April 6, Jesse Auditorium
Russian String Orchestra 7 p.m. Feb. 18, Missouri Theatre
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Academy of St. Martin in the Fields
7 p.m. March 21, Jesse Auditorium
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY MADALYNE BIRD, DREAMSTIME
related to women with officials at the capitol. Learn more or get involved: Email: Contact form online Online: now.org/chapter/columbia-area-now/ mizzou college republicans
Mission: According to the group’s Facebook page, its primary goal is to “recruit, educate and activate Republicans” at MU, by promoting discussion and education among people with various political backgrounds. “We think colleges should have diversity of thought,” says Skyler Roundtree, president of the group. “Students should be able to talk about their perspectives.” What it’s up to: In December 2016, the group met with black fraternity Phi Rho Eta to discuss differing political views. The group also meets bi-weekly to talk
ANATOMY OF A DEMONSTRATION Jan. 27, 4:39 p.m. Trump signs an executive order limiting travel from Muslimmajority countries.
Jan. 28, 12:16 p.m. Member of closed CoMo for Progress Facebook group proposes the idea of a solidarity rally.
about current events. “A lot of us don’t feel the same way,” Roundtree says. “Some of us didn’t even vote the same way.” To achieve its goals: The group hopes to have more discussions with community members like the one it held in December. Roundtree says members will host a debate with MU students affiliated with the Mizzou College Democrats organization in March. Learn more or get involved: Email: mizzoucollegerepublicans@gmail.com Online: facebook.com/mucrs/ como for progress
Mission: The group’s Facebook page states that its primary goal is to affect public policy that “bolsters freedom, equality and humanity” on a local, national and global scale. “We’re really just trying to get the word out that every
person can take action if they want to and have their voice heard,” says Rebecca Allen, one of the group’s organizers. What it’s up to: CoMo for Progress currently exists primarily on Facebook as both a public page and a closed group. The public page posts events from organizations around Columbia. The closed group does the same, but members also have ongoing discussions about current events and how to respond to them, as they did for the Peace Park Muslim solidarity rally Jan. 29. To achieve its goals: The group is working on streamlining their event organization process. It’s also creating a web page to make information and event details more easily accessible to the public. Learn more or get involved: Email: comoforprogress@gmail.com Online: facebook.com/CoMoForProgress/
Every demonstration, rally and protest is different. Some come together in a month’s time; some take longer. Here’s how CoMo for Progress organized Flowers and Friendship, a coalition in opposition to Trump’s travel ban, in less than 48 hours:
Jan. 28, 12:23 p.m. Another member comments on the post about a Texas mosque that burned down and suggests going to Columbia’s mosque to protect it and show support.
Jan. 28, 1:57 p.m. A member comments on and mentions the idea of bringing yellow flowers to the mosque steps to symbolize friendship.
Jan. 28, 2:48 p.m. Another member posts in the group to confirm members of the mosque are OK with community members dropping yellow flowers at the mosque.
Jan. 28, 6:10 p.m. A member suggests gathering downtown Sunday with signs and bring flowers to the mosque.
Jan. 28, 7:47 p.m. Another member suggests meeting at Peace Park. Others mention confirming the best time to plan around religious services at the mosque.
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Jan. 28, 8:48 p.m. CoMo for Progress public page publishes Flowers and Friendship solidarity events on Facebook.
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Jan. 29, noon A rally is held at Peace Park and ends with a group walk to the mosque to drop off more yellow flowers.
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MUSIC
Burning down the house show
Local concert halls aren’t the only places to see rockin’ acts BY ALEX RANSOM House shows don’t have large stages, fancy lights and sound systems or an abundance of standing room. In reality, they more closely resemble a party than a performance, and fans come just as much for the socialization as the music. House shows emanate a laid-back vibe so musicians and fans can intermingle in a relaxed atmosphere and bond over a common love of music. A house show is a special event that can be enjoyable for everyone. Regardless of if you’re hosting, playing or attending, here are some tips and tricks to get the most out of your house show experience. Vox talked to a house show organizer and a musician to figure out what to do no matter your house show role.
Springfield duo The AutumnAfter, composed of singer Hannah Williams and guitarist Corey Clay, plays at Jonathan Bommel’s studio apartment. The AutumnAfter show was the fourth house show Bommel hosted and his first in Columbia.
HOW TO: HOST
HOW TO: PERFORM
HOW TO: ATTEND
Jonathan Bommel, Columbia resident and frontman of the band John Skinner, has hosted four house shows: two in Jefferson City, one in Holt’s Summit and one in Columbia. Springfield-based duo The AutumnAfter performed at his latest house show at the end of January. One of the main hurdles in preparing for these gigs is attracting an audience. “You really have to put in a lot of legwork,” Bommel says. “You can’t just put up a Facebook event.” Previously, he has sent out personal invitations for his band’s shows to try to build a bigger audience. He also stresses the importance of changing venues — hosting shows repeatedly at one residence means the same people will often attend while switching the location of the show can bring in new faces. Of course, offering food and drinks is a big draw, too.
Paul Heitert is an active member in the St. Louis independent music community. Heitert, a guitarist in the black metal group Ankou, math rock (rock music with complex melodies and rhythms) band Jr. Clooney and rock group Alan Smithee, has played several house shows across the country, including in Columbia. Although Heitert frequently has to wrangle gear into small residential spaces, he says it’s not as much of a problem as someone might think. “In houses, it’s kind of unnecessary to have gigantic rigs, so you might be able to downsize equipment,” Heitert says. Both Heitert and Bommel speak highly of performing at house shows because of the intimacy and the potential for feedback they offer. “It’s more than just a show,” Bommel says. “It’s more of a personal environment. It’s getting to know your community and the people interested in your music.”
Because house shows take place in close quarters, the noise level can be potentially damaging to the ears. Heitert recommends earplugs for those with sensitive hearing. More than anything, though, Heitert emphasizes that house shows are much different experiences than shows at larger venues. There’s typically not an age restriction or cover charge. Some shows charge a few dollars, but others operate on donations. Although merch doesn’t have as strong of a presence as at standard concerts, bands can bring items to sell. House shows aren’t money-making efforts; they are designed to generate a positive, supportive environment for everyone. “I think you’ll leave satisfied from the overall sense of camaraderie and togetherness after a house show and likely hear music you may not have heard from any other place or outlet,” Heitert says.
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PHOTO AND ILLUSTRATIONS BY TAYLOR YSTEBOE, FLATICON
MUSIC
The Motel Brothers mix it up
The acoustic hip-hop duo brings its smooth rhymes and uplifting melodies to The Blue Note Behind the walls of an off-colored red house in Columbia’s East Campus neighborhood, Jack Fargotstein and Jeremy Schmetterer, better known as The Motel Brothers, are in their element. From the outside, you can faintly hear the riffs coming from Schmetterer’s electric guitar. Fargotstein stands to his right and raps with his eyes closed. The mic is as close to his mouth as possible without touching it. He pours out his life story over the music. Then, the music stops. “Can we slow down just a little bit?” Fargotstein says, rubbing his neck and assessing the music and taking a break from his rap alter-ego for a moment. Schmetterer, 23, is from Deerfield, Illinois. He began playing music 11 years ago after finding an old acoustic guitar in his parents’ basement. He let curiosity for the instrument blossom into religiously practicing every day. After taking guitar lessons for a month, Schmetterer’s teacher advised him to stop. He didn’t need lessons anymore. Fargotstein, 22, was raised in the heart of Memphis. He developed a deep appreciation for rap, singing and songwriting when he was in middle school, and that continued into high school. He started posting videos with fellow rappers on YouTube and has received thousands of views. Schmetterer and Fargotstein both put their music aspirations on hold to adjust to life in a new city when they moved to Columbia. The two wouldn’t meet until 2013 when Schmetterer was a sophomore and Fargotstein was a freshman at MU. As brothers of the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity, they lived in a building that was once a motel. The musical duo first performed together on stage for a homecoming show at Jesse Hall that October. The musical partnership never amounted to anything serious until two years later when Schmetterer, in his last year at MU, evaluated where his life was headed and decided to go after something he’s wanted for a long time: a chance to turn a music dream — with Fargotstein — into a reality.
VOX SESSIONS
BY COLTON POUNCY
Jack Fargotstein and Jeremy Schmetterer feed off of each other and try to find inspiration from everyday situations. They’ll sit down on their couch, talk about what’s going on in their lives and create songs on the spot.
“I called Fargo and asked him, ‘Yo, what do you think about making music?’” Schmetterer says. “I just felt like we had something.” Fargotstein agreed but admitted he wasn’t sure what would come of it. The two set aside some time and locked themselves in a room for an hour. When they came out, they had just written their first song, “New Thing,” which appeared on their EP, Crossing Maryland, in May 2016. They’ve been making music ever since. The duo will venture south for a show at the University of Alabama on Feb. 25. They will return to CoMo three days later to open for Sammy Adams when he plays at The Blue Note. “The Motel Brothers are one of the most dynamic and diverse bands in the
market,” says Pat Kay, regional talent buyer at The Blue Note and Rose Music Hall. “They’re great musicians and have one of the stronger DIY infrastructures I’ve seen from a Missouri band. They’re also pretty swell dudes.” Schmetterer graduated in May 2016 and Fargotstein is set to graduate this spring, but they’ve set aside time to pursue their music aspirations a bit longer and see where things go from here. “Only time will tell,” Fargotstein says. “If there’s any way we could support ourselves playing music, we would. We love doing it, we love hanging out together, and right now, it’s working.”
Where Vox gives you an intimate, in-depth look at local artists you should know
Vox Sessions are an up-close and personal music video experience in which local artists sit down with us in-office and play some of their best tracks. In our most recent edition, The Motel Brothers played “Four in the Morning” and “Butterflies,” both of which you can watch on voxmagazine.com. Here are a few other sessions we’ve done in the past that are worth checking out:
PHOTOS COURTESY OR BY MEG VATTEROTT, VOX ARCHIVES
iLLPHONiCS Hear the sounds of East Coast and West Coast rap along with southern twang with this groovy, fast-rapping quintet from St. Louis.
CHRIS STEPHENS
DEAD BED BAD
Chris Stephens is an authority on foreign instruments such as the Chinese pipa, the Egyptian oud and the Indian sitar.
Acoustic and melancholic, Dead Bed Bad will perform an intimate yet casual rendition of the song “Hard Time for Living.”
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PROTESTS,
ARRESTS,
In September 1986, students protest UM System investments with businesses that have assets in South Africa. At this time, South Africa was implementing practical apartheid, a system of racial segregation and discrimination. PHOTOS BY OR COURTESY OF
UNREST Thirty years ago, MU student-activists clashed with the curators over the university’s ties to apartheid-ruled South Africa. Their successful protests forced divestment and provided a model for affecting change. BY JENNIFER ALDRICH
PHOTOS BY OR COURTESY OF
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T
Students protested and demanded action, MU divested, shanties fell and eventually, apartheid ended. After 30 years, racial tension runs deep on campus, in this community and across the globe. But there were once 41 students who fought racism with empathy from more than 8,000 miles away.
ST. LOUIS, 2014
COLUMBIA, 2015
WESTERN CAPE, 2015
Protesters stood in a circle with their hands up. “This is how he died with his hands in the air,” shouted Kendrick Strong, one of thousands protesting the death of Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager shot by a white police officer. In daylight, the protests were peaceful. But at night, police in helmets and body armor fired smoke grenades. Protesters set ablaze and looted a QuikTrip.
The crowd linked arms inside the cold, dark tent on Carnahan Quadrangle at MU in November 2015. Rain fell, and wind blew as members of Concerned Student 1950 sang hymns inside one of the dozen tents. “Pray for our mental strength,” Curtis Taylor Jr. said. “Pray for our physical strength.” Water poured into the tent. Ropes struggled to keep it secure.
Students at the University of Western Cape in South Africa used garbage bins to shield themselves from riot police firing rubber bullets. They ran from stun grenades. Protesters started fires. The campus closed after protests continued for more than a week. UWC was founded as a “colored college” in the 1960s, and the perpetual inequality means the students never stop protesting. The University of Western Cape has had a partnership with MU since 1986.
Chris Brashear reconstructs a shanty that was torn down. This photo was originally published on Dec. 7, 1986.
hey called themselves Missourians Against Apartheid. They were a group of students who protested against $100 million the UM System had invested in businesses in South Africa. The country was practicing apartheid at the time, a system of segregation and discrimination based on race. Apartheid began due to racial tensions in South Africa. In 1948, the Afrikaner National Party won the South African general election. One of its main policies was apartheid, or “perfect racism” as South African comedian Trevor Noah calls it. By 1950, marriages and sexual relations between white people and people of other races were illegal. The government passed the Population Registration Act of 1950, which classified each South African by his or her race: black, white or colored, which means mixed descent and includes subsections of Asian and Indian. In 1958, newly elected Prime Minister Hendrik Verwoerd implemented separate development, which geographically separated South Africans and forced blacks into townships called Bantustans. On Nov. 6, 1962, the U.N. General Assembly passed a resolution calling for nations to impose economic and diplomatic sanctions against South Africa, but MU still had investments with businesses that had assets in the country. The anti-apartheid movement started at MU on April 21, 1978. A group of students petitioned the UM System Board of Curators to divest tens of millions of dollars from businesses in South Africa. Just a few months after the petition, P.W. Botha was elected prime minister of South Africa. Although Botha legalized interracial marriage and sexual relations, he didn’t give any political power to black South Africans and enforced more security on anti-apartheid activists. He also refused to negotiate with the African National Congress, the leading anti-apartheid political party. But he was the first government leader to allow contact with Nelson Mandela, the leader of the ANC who was sentenced to life in prison on June 12, 1964, for sabotage against the government. Botha was prime minister until 1984 when he was elected president of South Africa. Up until this point, the university ignored the students’ request to divest. Botha’s pro-apartheid government inspired a group of students more than 8,000 miles away in Missouri to fight back against this system of racism.
PHOTO COURTESY OF MISSOURIAN ARCHIVES, AP PHOTO/ RON HARRIS, AP PHOTO/JEFF ROBERSON, AP PHOTO/NQOBILE SITHOLE
STUDENT PROTESTERS
It’s early 1985 at MU. President Ronald Reagan is beginning his second term, everyone’s listening to Madonna’s “Like a Virgin,” and a few students have organized a group demanding the university divest nearly $100 million from businesses with assets in South Africa. MU students Kathryn Benson, Barb Brents and Craig Eckert were among the members of Missourians Against Apartheid. The leader of the movement was Carla Weitzel, a sociology graduate student. Their first big demonstration was on April 26, 1985, at the inauguration of then-UM System President C. Peter Magrath. Several months after the protest, on Aug. 15, 1985, Botha delivered the Rubicon speech to more than 200 million people worldwide. He announced he wasn’t going to end apartheid, nor would he release Nelson Mandela from prison in Pollsmoor, which is described even today as hellish. One month later, Weitzel and two other students presented reasons to divest to the UM System’s South Africa Investment Policy Task PHOTO COURTESY OF MISSOURIAN ARCHIVES
“WE CANNOT LET THE CURATORS FORGET THAT THERE ARE STILL PERSONS WHO CARE ABOUT WHAT IS HAPPENING IN SOUTH AFRICA.” — Carla Weitzel, Missourians Against Apartheid leader, Dec. 8, 1985
Students and faculty protest the UM System’s South African investments outside Jesse Hall. Many of the protests took place on this campus landmark. This photo originally ran April 28, 1987.
Force, a committee appointed by Magrath to look at the moral, political and financial issues with the investments. At the time of the meeting, it was estimated the UM System had more than $95 million invested with businesses that have assets in South Africa. An article published by the Columbia Missourian in September 1985 stated some students discussed the financial benefits of divesting, but Weitzel focused on apartheid and the Sullivan Principles, a document she believed didn’t adequately address workplace inequality. These principles, created by a General Motors board member Leon Sullivan, promised workplace equality but would affect only 0.5 percent of workers in South Africa. In November, shortly after the meeting, the task force recommended the university limit investments only to companies that had signed the Sullivan Principles. This plan had been criticized for months. In December, activists stood silently during the vote on the policy. They shook their heads at the result — the curators voted to divest $5 million of UM System’s now $93 million. It was a small victory but not the result the protesters wanted. “We cannot let the curators 02.23.17
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forget that there are still persons who care about what is happening in South Africa,” Weitzel said after the meeting. As MU voted to partially divest, Botha was taking away more rights. In June 1986, Botha declared a state of emergency over the entire region of South Africa. He increased measures to end anti-apartheid protests and implemented heavy press censorship. The way to cripple a country that is engaging in immoral practice is through economic sanctions, says Sandra Davidson, an attorney and professor at the Missouri School of Journalism. Davidson had just begun teaching at MU at the end of the protests in fall 1987. The partial divestment was the first step, but activists needed to do more to get their point across to curators that it wasn’t good enough. Benson, an undergraduate student at the time, says the group wanted to put the issue in front of the university in a way that was hard to ignore. So they built shanties.
SHANTYTOWNS
Small forts made of plywood, cardboard boxes, tree limbs and other scraps stood on the Francis Quadrangle. On Oct. 10, 1986, the first shantytowns were built; they represented the Bantustans in South Africa. Like MU, the U.S. was partially acting on apartheid. Just before the construction of the shanties, Congress enacted the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986, which imposed sanctions against South Africa until the country worked toward ending apartheid. Benson frequented and helped build the shanties. “It was a warm, inviting experience,” Benson says. “We were trying to draw people in and engage in the discussion, so we’d have fliers outside the shanties. It wasn’t a cold, desolate place.” It was where people went to socialize. Along with serving as a meeting place for protesters, the structures had another purpose. “The shanties were a way of publicly shaming the university, not letting this just be swept under the rug or keeping people quiet about it,” Davidson says. “They were bringing it out in the open in a very visible way.” MU student Tom Manig balanced on a metal folding chair as he hammered a stake into the ground to erect a banner that said “MU DIVEST NOW.” At 12:30 a.m., just three days after the shantytowns were built, UMC police tore them down. Seventeen protesters were arrested, detained for an hour and given summonses for trespassing and littering. Police said next time they’d be going to jail. Weitzel, among those arrested, said the group would put up a sign that said “This is the past and future site of the shantytown.” The day of the MU arrests, thousands of South African students planned a walkout in 12
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A student reads the newspaper in her shanty on MU’s Francis Quadrangle. This photo was originally published on Feb. 22, 1987.
about 40 high schools in Soweto, located in Johannesburg. Soweto was one of the segregated black townships. The walkout was to protest the government closing schools in Soweto, the military presence in townships and the detention of children by the government. Although MU’s shanties were torn down, the protesters’ plan to get the curators’ attention had worked. Two weeks after the demolition, the Columbia Tribune reported Magrath agreed to meet with the students to discuss the investments. But the meeting never happened. The students invited Magrath to the shanties. Magrath wanted to have a closed-door meeting. “The conditions of the meeting were one-way,” Weitzel said in the article. “The main reason the shanties went up is that the administrative channels had been exhausted. We do not hide behind closed doors.”
LEADING THE MOVEMENT
A harsh wind blew on a cold afternoon in November 1986 in front of Jesse Hall. A band, Three-Legged Dog, blasted music to a crowd of chattering teeth. But Weitzel glided and danced with her long blond hair swaying. After the rally, Weitzel
“THE SHANTIES WERE A WAY OF PUBLICLY SHAMING THE UNIVERSITY, NOT LETTING THIS JUST BE SWEPT UNDER THE RUG OR KEEPING PEOPLE QUIET ABOUT IT. THEY WERE BRINGING IT OUT IN THE OPEN IN A VERY VISIBLE WAY.” — Sandra Davidson, attorney and MU School of Journalism professor, 2016
PHOTO COURTESY OF MISSOURIAN ARCHIVES
joined a Tribune reporter at a restaurant. Questioning authority wasn’t something new for Weitzel; she began doing it in junior high school. “I was always the one they were dragging into the office for wearing miniskirts or asking why the girls couldn’t take electronics,” she said with a half-smile. She had a tumultuous life. Weitzel dropped out of college, began heavy drug use, attempted suicide twice, had a short marriage and a two-year stint in the Army all before she turned 26. She discovered sociology and found it to be the perfect mix of science and creativity, and it brought her to MU. Weitzel’s turbulent life mirrored her emotional state— the laid-back, loose dancer at the rally earlier that morning, compared to the enraged activist passionately talking about her cause over coffee just hours later. “When we talk about apartheid, we’re talking about killing,” Weitzel said. She slammed her fist on the table, tears streaming down her face. “There are people out there hurting every day, and we are responsible,” she said. “We are responsible.” Meanwhile, in November 1986, South Africa lifted restrictions on the Red Cross, which had been banned from helping the country after it had removed South Africa from a conference the month before because of the apartheid.
When the first shanties were torn down, Weitzel said more would be rebuilt. Police said if the shanties were rebuilt, the protesters would be arrested. On Feb. 6, 1987, Weitzel kept her promise, and the police kept theirs. At a rally of about 200 people, 41 protesters were arrested for occupying the shanties. Duane Stucky, MU’s interim chancellor at the time, said he would press for state prosecution, and some students could face student-conduct regulations. About a dozen students lounged in Magrath’s office 20 days later. They drank soda and smoked cigarettes. Some watched TV; others did homework. Around 7 p.m. they had pizza delivered. The students were there to see the president and demand divestment. His office telephone rang; a student answered: “Shantytown protesters. May I help you?” One protester placed a note in Magrath’s “out” box — “Things to Do: Divestment.” They wouldn’t leave for 27 hours.
THE FIGHT CONTINUES
Brents, Benson and Weitzel were among the 41 students arrested at the shantytowns in February. Dan Viets, a freshly minted lawyer, was just as opposed to apartheid. He represented the protesters alongside lead counsel Gary Oxenhandler, former
Kathryn Benson stands by Jesse Hall on Feb. 9, 1988. She was one of 41 protesters arrested at the shanties.
WHERE ARE THEY NOW? Craig Eckert As a professor at Eastern Illinois University, Eckert was involved in organizing protests for higher pay for faculty in the early-to-mid 1990s. His interest in politics led him to protest Vice President Dan Quayle and President George H.W. Bush. He says he took what he learned from his professors and the protests at MU and used it in his own teaching. “Sociology isn’t just an academic discipline,” Eckert says. “It’s your life’s calling. You live this. You don’t just stand in front of a room. You get actively involved in issues at your own university and your own community.”
PHOTOS COURTESY OF MISSOURIAN ARCHIVES, EASTERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY DIGITAL YEARBOOK
DECADES OF PROTESTS Missourians Against Apartheid was not the first or last group to protest at MU. Over the past 50 years, students and faculty have challenged the system on several occasions. 1964–1965: RACISM IN CAMPUS HOUSING Congress on Racial Equality and Missouri Student Association What happened: Professors and students participated in a three-hour march. What changed: People of color were allowed to live in any type of housing they wanted. 1968–1969: RACISM ON CAMPUS Legion of Black Collegians What happened: The Legion made a list of demands such as an increase in black staff, a black culture center, active recruitment of black students and a black studies program. This was brought on by the singing of the song “Dixie” during a football game while students waved the Confederate flag. What changed: The university recognized the Legion of Black Collegians as an official group. The school hired the first black professor the next year. The Gaines/Oldham Black Culture Center opened in 1971. 1970: FOUR ANTI-VIETNAM PROTESTERS FROM KENT STATE WERE KILLED. MU students and faculty What happened: More than 3,000 people protested at Stankowski Field and in front of Jesse Hall. There was also a sit-in at the chancellor’s office. What changed: The American Association of University Professors voted to censure MU for its treatment of seven sociology professors during the protests. 1974: THE LEGION OF BLACK COLLEGIANS GAVE THE UNIVERSITY A LIST OF 15 DEMANDS THAT WERE NOT MET. Legion of Black Collegians What happened: A group of 500 to 700 students participated in a rally. They gave the university a list of 15 demands, such as Marching Mizzou refusing to march in any racist events. What changed: Certain demands were met, including the removal of the Confederate Rock. This rock was a memorial to Boone County citizens who fought for the Confederacy in the Civil War. 1978–1987: MU INVESTMENTS IN SOUTH AFRICA Missourians Against Apartheid What happened: Shanties were built on the quad to represent the conditions of apartheid, to which MU was contributing financially. Forty-one students were arrested for occupying the shanties. What changed: MU divested a total of $127.5 million, which fluctuated throughout the years, from businesses with assets in South Africa. 1987: LACK OF MINORITY ENROLLMENT AT MU. Students and faculty What happened: More than 200 students marched and protested at Jesse Hall. At this time only 3.2 percent of MU students were African-American. What changed: Minority enrollment is still low at MU compared to the national minority rate, but it is about 10 percent higher than in 1987. 2015: GRADUATE STUDENT RIGHTS Graduate Student Forum What happened: The university changed graduate student benefits with little notice including loss of health care and decreased tuition waivers for graduate student employees who worked quarter-time assistantships. The university took away health care with only a day’s notice. What changed: Health care was promised for the 2015–2016 school year as well as the 2016–2017 school year. Future changes are to be determined. 2015: RACISM ON CAMPUS Concerned Student 1950 What happened: This group wanted to change the culture of racism on campus. One student, Jonathan Butler, went on a hunger strike on Traditions Plaza. Others camped out there. The MU football team refused to play its next game until the UM system president and chancellor stepped down. What changed: UM system president and chancellor both resigned.
In fall 1986, students march on Francis Quadrangle to urge MU to divest from businesses with assets in South Africa.
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PHOTOS BY OR COURTESY OF
Boone County Circuit Court Judge. He says the Boone County Jail didn’t have room for the students, and it would cost the university a lot of money to take them to another jail. A judge offered to release the students if they signed a paper agreeing to abide by the university’s rules. The students refused, but the judge let them go anyway. Some students stayed in jail voluntarily. One of them was Weitzel. The Tribune reported that Weitzel hadn’t eaten since the arrests, and Brents says Weitzel remained in jail and on a hunger strike until at least Feb. 9. Viets says, “She wasn’t scared.” On the day of the arrests, the university had $127.5 million invested in companies doing business in South Africa where, according to a UNICEF report, more starving refugees populated the Bantustans than ever before. The report said apartheid and war had a greater impact on the region
than drought. Back in Columbia, Viets was ready to fight for the protesters. He says the arrests were illegal, and the police infringed on the students’ First Amendment rights. But was the university really stifling the protesters’ rights? Davidson agrees with Viets. She says the quadrangle is a public forum. It’s open to the public 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. “You have a First Amendment right to protest,” she says. Before the arrests, some professors were reluctant to protest. But, according to the Tribune article that reported the arrests, faculty members planned to join students for a protest on the quadrangle. One of those professors was Ted Vaughan, the chair of the Sociology Department at the time. The protesting professors helped the movement gain more attention. Eckert says they were role models because of their commitment to social justice
PHOTOS COURTESY OF MISSOURIAN ARCHIVES, MU DIGITAL YEARBOOK
Sgt. Derick Amos of the UMC police patrols a crowd of anti-apartheid demonstrators at a University Board of Curators meeting July 26, 1985. This photo originally ran Aug. 26, 1985.
WHERE ARE THEY NOW? Barb Brents Brents protested Las Vegas nuclear testing from 1988 to 1993 and was arrested for trespassing at a demonstration in 1991. She has been an advocate for women’s reproductive rights and was part of the group that established the Women’s Studies Department at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas in the early 1990s. Currently, she’s involved in sex worker rights issues. “We can’t just sit by and let things happen,” Brents says. “No matter what you do, no matter how big or how small, you have to do it.”
causes. He says Vaughan, who taught Theories of Sociology, was the godfather of sociology and pushed his students to live their lives to the fullest. “While we all took classes from him, we all learned as much from him sitting in The Heidelberg as we did in class,” Eckert says. “And that’s not to minimize what a great professor he was in class.” Seven weeks after the February 1987 arrests, former President Ronald Reagan arrived in Columbia and received a less-than-warm welcome. Reagan faced harsh criticism after he vetoed the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986, which went into law because of a Congressional override. A Tribune article reported about 30 activists from different groups, including Missourians Against Apartheid, The Sierra Club and the Missouri Rural Crisis Center, met to map out protesting strategies before Reagan came to town. Weitzel decided “outrage” would be their catchphrase. The day of his visit, Reagan’s staff did not seem pleased with the protesters. “I remember we were at the end of Broadway, and the press car with all the photographers and videographers turned off their cameras when they saw us,” Brents says. The school year was almost over after the Reagan demonstration. Weitzel spent her summer with other organizers and planned the months ahead. Benson and Brents were still students, but Eckert had graduated and was an assistant professor at Eastern Illinois University in the Sociology Department. Right before the fall semester, Gov. John Ashcroft signed a bill to require Missouri’s largest pension funds to divest holdings with companies doing business in South Africa. The bill affected the Missouri State Employees’ Retirement System, three public school retirement systems and the Highway Employees and the Highway Patrol System, but not MU. The investments being pulled were estimated to be between $300 and $700 million. Around 400 protesters wore sweaters and heavy coats as they gathered on the quadrangle for a candlelight vigil on Oct. 10 1987. It was a chilly 40 degrees as they shielded their candles from the 15-mph wind. Some were huddled around a new plywood shanty; others 02.23.17
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Jack Pooker, Beth Boring, Addae Ahmad , Tom Manig and others support divestment at university meeting. This photo originally ran Dec. 18, 1987.
WHERE ARE THEY NOW? Kathryn Benson Benson was impressed by how much good attorneys could do for a group of people and for a cause, so she decided to go into law. After graduating from MU’s School of Law in 1992, she clerked for Judge Stanley Grimm in the Eastern District of the Missouri Court of Appeals for a year. Benson then worked at a small law firm in Jefferson City for another year before spending 10 years at a public defender’s office. She has been practicing law in Columbia since, and she is now a defense attorney for Batek & Benson law firm in Columbia. “I’m more on the sidelines,” Benson says. “I feel like my job is somewhat a way of protesting and protecting people against government abuse and protecting people’s freedom. I feel like I’ve done more good for the world through my work.”
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stood in a half-circle on Jesse Hall’s steps. The Legion of Black Collegians choir sang hymns as the speakers denounced apartheid and MU administrators. “The wind may blow out a candle, but it won’t blow out the fires in our hearts,” Weitzel said in a Tribune article. “Lighting candles is a symbol of our refusal to be silent in South Africa and this campus.” It was estimated MU still had $92 million in investments at the time. Five days later, Margaret Thatcher, the Prime Minister of Britain, spoke at the Vancouver Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting. She called the ANC a terrorist group and said she’d have nothing to do with it. Her press spokesman, Bernard Ingham, said it was “cloud-cuckoo-land for anyone” to think that the ANC would overthrow the current South African government.
THE TRIAL
In November, the 41 protesters who were arrested for trespassing were preparing for trial. Then the prosecution and defense made a deal: One person would stand trial, and the result of that case would apply to everyone. The protesters would sink or sail, together. Kathryn Benson was chosen. “She was bright, articulate, local and her dad was on the faculty,” Viets says. “I felt like if I believed in it, then I’d be willing to do whatever is necessary,” Benson says. “So many
people suffered so much because of apartheid, and it seemed like a very minor sacrifice. And of course, I was probably a little melodramatic. If Nelson Mandela can spend so many years in jail, then I can go to jail for a misdemeanor!” Benson’s trial began on Nov. 20. She says the trial wasn’t conducted in the traditional style. There were no testimonies, and the facts were undisputed. Each side submitted briefs and argued its point. Judge Patrick Horner looked at freedom of expression and prior use of the grounds (the quadrangle) to make his decision. The trial lasted four weeks. Viets claims that Horner said there was no such crime as trespassing on the quadrangle. The judge ruled in favor of Benson, and all 41 students were acquitted. “Despite being willing to make the sacrifice, I was a little uneasy about it,” Benson says and laughs. “It was a tremendous relief.” At the time of the trial, Mandela was still serving time in Pollsmoor. He would soon contract tuberculosis because of the horrific conditions of the prison. Not long after the group’s victory on Dec. 18, curators finally voted on whether to divest the remaining $75 million.
THE END OF APARTHEID Six anti-apartheid activists stood silently during the vote. One held a sign that read “DON’T BUY CHAINS DIVEST NOW.” Next
to him, Weitzel wiped a tear from her face. The curators voted 5-2, in favor of divestment. The protesters quietly left the room. Once outside, they cheered and embraced. “Academic freedom can only be preserved if our institution rests on a commitment to democracy and freedom, which is what divestment stands for,” Weitzel said. MU had finally divested, but apartheid still ravaged South Africa until 1989 when Botha suffered a stroke and resigned from power. He was succeeded by F.W. De Klerk, who said he would end apartheid and release Mandela from prison. Mandela was freed Feb. 11, 1990. Negotiations to end apartheid lasted until the presidential election of Mandela in 1994. Over 3.5 million people had been displaced and impoverished by the end of apartheid just because of the color of their skin. The anniversary of the election, April 27, is now celebrated as Freedom Day in South Africa — the country’s Independence Day. While she was fighting for the rights of people she even didn’t know, Weitzel continued to fight depression. She would never see her legacy of activism continue. On July 4, 2000, America’s Independence Day, Weitzel died by suicide.
NO JUSTICE, NO REST
Outside the tent with Concerned Student 1950, wind continued to blow tarps off the ground as protesters rushed to tie down the tents. In the next month, the intense scene in the
PHOTOS COURTESY OF MISSOURIAN ARCHIVES, MU DIGITAL YEARBOOK
WESTERN CAPE STUDENTS CONTINUE THE FIGHT Apartheid might have ended, but it’s not over. Twenty-three years ago, apartheid was nearing its end, but some people were just beginning their lives in the wake of this long period of South African history. A group of University of Western Cape students were born in the years immediately following apartheid, but they still feel its effects every day. They continue to fight for what they feel was promised to them when they were born. These students came to MU in January 2017 to speak about their participation in activism at home. They are fighting for a free education and a decolonized curriculum. For them, activism is not something that ever stops; they are still fighting.
Phumezo Bongco President of Student Representative Council Some might think racism stems from being in a minority group. Bongco says that even though they are in the majority of their country, there is still just as much racism against them. Even though the government is black, he feels it still does not care about black issues. In order to combat these issues, Bongco uses intellectual activism. He plans to fight the system from within by gaining an education. “The fight has changed from confrontation to an intellectual war,” he says. “They can hear this voice through intellectualism, not radicalism.”
tent would explode further. Jonathan Butler would go on a hunger strike, and the football team would refuse to play until UM System President Tim Wolfe resigned. Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin stepped down after nine deans asked for his removal. They said he created “a toxic environment of threat, fear and intimidation.” Wolfe followed. In Ferguson, Missouri, in 2014, protests grew larger after a grand jury decided not to indict police officer Darren Wilson who shot unarmed Michael Brown. The killing of black Americans by white police officers plagues a country trying to overcome racial divisions. On July 5, 2016, Alton Sterling was shot several times by a white police officer while another held him down in Baton Rouge. That night, about 100 demonstrators took to the streets of the city chanting “Hands up, don’t shoot.” The next day, a police officer pulled over Philando Castile in Falcon Heights, Minnesota. The traffic stop ended with the officer shooting Castile seven times while Castile’s girlfriend and her 4-year-old daughter watched in horror. Peaceful protests followed in St. Paul, Minnesota. Protesters asked for charges against the officer and a federal investigation. At least 258 black people were killed by police in the U.S. in 2016 alone, many of them unarmed. It’s been 30 years since the shantytowns stood on the quadrangle. It’s been more than two years since Michael Brown’s body lay in a Ferguson street. It’s been a year and PHOTO COURTESY OF MISSOURIAN ARCHIVES
a half since Concerned Student 1950 sent a list of demands to MU to make the campus more inclusive. At University of Western Cape, protests against inequality continue. At a January 2017 MU panel, UWC student Zizipho Royi noted the police at MU are rather peaceful with protesters, but in South Africa, they’re brutal. “In South Africa, it’s militarized,” she said. “It’s toxic water, it’s hot water, it’s stun grenades, it’s rubber bullets, it’s tear gas. They beat you physically.” Protesters at UWC are arrested and sent to Pollsmoor prison, the same damp and filthy place that Mandela contracted tuberculosis. Students are held there until they can pay the 3,000 rand bail, about $226. Royi says whether she’s the minority race in the U.S. or the majority race in South Africa, she’s oppressed just the same. Today on MU’s campus, it’s difficult to imagine the shantytowns ever existed. Students play Frisbee on the quadrangle; they don’t camp out on it. Faculty walk into Jesse Hall to work, not protest university policy in front of it. The leaders are people like the tour team members showing prospective students the MU Columns. But 30 years ago, there were shanties. There were protests. And there was one fearless leader. Carla Weitzel knew her fight, the fight we should all have, to see one another as equals, regardless of the color of our skin, was still not over. In her words, “There isn’t a fairy tale happy ending.”
Allegations of racism at MU prompted protesters to hold a rally on campus on April 27, 1987. The protesters compared racism at MU to the apartheid government of South Africa. The two protesters pictured are singing the “Negro National Anthem.”
Sibulelo Ganda Secretary of Student Representative Council Although apartheid has been over for 23 years, it is at the root of the current issues in South Africa, Ganda says. Everything started over the question of land. He believes they would not be fighting for things such as a free education if their land was actually their land. However, he plans to keep protesting for as long as it takes to make a change. “These things we are fighting for today are things our grandparents died fighting for,” he says. “As blacks, enough is enough. We are willing to die.”
Nolukholo Mabharwana Vice President of Student Representative Council Mabharwana fights for her rights every day because she knows the government can do better. She says people thought that things were going to change when a new leader took charge. The current president is a black man, but she says nothing has changed for the black people. “The whites are still running South Africa,” she says. “A white person is running the country through a black person.”
Zizipho Royi Community Outreach Officer of Student Representative Council Royi is proud of her heritage and tired of tiptoeing around the issue of race. Growing up, she went to a mostly white high school. She felt it was OK for her to look black, but her classmates did not want to her act black. She wants to bring black citizens’ realities to the forefront. Things like the many hours of commuting to school in comparison to the short drive her white classmates have is a huge daily reminder of how far the black community still has to go. “We are able to be resilient because we are coming to collect on the promise that was made when we were born,” she says. 02.23.17
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THE SCENE
Reeling over True/False
Find out what draws film critics to Columbia’s most anticipated film fest BY MAX HAVEY When some people think about the True/False Film Fest, they think about filmmakers coming from around the world to showcase their nonfiction films. Critics see it as a place of discovery, stimulating dialogues and overwhelming community. Unsurprisingly, True/False has become a favorite among the critics who cover it. Vox spoke with four critics to get their takes on this year’s fest and what keeps them coming back. Critics have been flocking to Columbia for True/False since its inception in 2003. Film buffs praise the fest for its creative nonfiction films that address important social and cultural topics.
SAM ADAMS
ERIC HYNES
SCOTT TOBIAS
ALISSA WILKINSON
A Focus on quality is something critic Sam Adams, senior editor at the online magazine Slate, sees as key to True/False’s critical appeal. “With True/False, there is a real mission and a real philosophy,” Adams says. “There is such a thing as a True/False movie. They are films that are equally concerned with form as they are with content.” Adams discovered True/False in 2011 while sharing an airport shuttle from Sundance Film Festival with co-conspirators David Wilson and Paul Sturtz, and programmer Chris Boeckman. “By the time we got to the airport, I was invited down to True/False with about three weeks of notice,” Adams says.
Eric Hynes, columnist for Film Comment and associate curator of film at the Museum of the Moving Image in New York, has covered the fest in some capacity since 2011. As a result, he sees True/ False as a good way to engage with the films. The atmosphere of the festival is devoid of the strict deadlines to file reviews that other festivals pose. “You’re not just showing up and getting done what you have to do and going back to your hotel to write,” Hynes says. “You’re actually digging in a bit and engaging with the culture and a film culture for several days.”
Having covered the festival for a number of outlets such as Dissolve and Variety over the past two years, Scott Tobias sees it as not only an impeccably curated festival but also one that spawns potential for thought and dialogue. “The fact that there is that mingling between critics and filmmakers, it prompts a lot of discussion,” Tobias says. “It kind of becomes this enriching experience, which is distinguished from other festivals where there isn’t that dialogue or the chance to socialize like you do at True/False.”
Alissa Wilkinson, staff film critic for Vox (No, not us. The other one), made her way to the festival for the first time in 2016 after hearing other critics’ glowing recommendations. She found a fest lacking the heavy celebrity spotlight of other sprawling festivals and focusing on the quality of the films. “It has the feeling of one of those smaller festivals that is more for the local community, but the quality of film matches what you might get at a nationally focused festival like Toronto or Sundance,” Wilkinson says. Its depth of programing allows viewers and critics alike to make their own discoveries.
Past favorites: Brett Story’s The Prison in Twelve Landscapes (2016) Most anticipated: Travis Wilkerson’s Did You Wonder Who Fired the Gun? because of the live narration
Past favorites: Steve James’ The Interrupters (2011) Most anticipated: Antonio Santini and Dan Sickles’ Dina and Peter Nicks’ The Force to compare reactions from both True/False and Sundance audiences
Past favorites: Mehrdad Oskouei’s Starless Dreams (2016) because the director gives his subjects a voice Most anticipated: Did You Wonder Who Fired the Gun?
Past favorites: Tony Stone’s Peter and the Farm (2016) and Kirsten Johnson’s Cameraperson (2016) Most anticipated: Kitty Green’s Casting JonBenet because it plays with the form of nonfiction
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PHOTOS BY OR COURTESY OF SAM ADAMS, ERIC HYNES, DEREK JENKINS, SCOTT TOBIAS AND ALISSA WILKNSON
OLLIE THE OCTUPUS
SVEN THE SNAKE
PRINCESS BELLE
THE SCENE
Party animals Two artistic entrepreneurs add a pop to the local children’s party scene
MORRIS THE MONKEY
BY TYLER SCHNEIDER Younger children treasure their inflatable friends long All it takes is one good idea to inflate a business to success. after the party ends, but a harsh reality awaits them when Rachel Briley and Kayla Benton, founders of Inflatable the balloons deflate. This sad, long process takes between Canvas, a Columbia-based event company, tapped into three days and a week. “I’ve gotten emails and Facebook newly acquired skills to form a profitable small business. messages two or three days later saying At first, Benton painted faces children are so upset because their by herself at Capital Chrysler, a car balloon animal is dead,” Briley says. dealership in Jefferson City where Initially, the biggest challenge the pair worked, but it didn’t take for Inflatable Canvas was getting the long for the lines to become too long word out. Benton attributes much to handle on her own. To help out, of their success to social media and Briley learned a skill of her own: word of mouth. “I think maybe the balloon art. In July 2016, she started most difficult thing when we were first watching YouTube tutorials on how starting was just getting our names out to create the inflatable characters. there,” Benton says. She practiced for hours on end in her Sue Giger is another face-painting home with simple designs such as specialist in Columbia. She formed her dogs and flowers. own art company, Midnight Museum, “When I first started, I would in 2002, under which she has produced make so many different balloons, and a variety of artistic works. Her secret they would be awful,” Briley says. Benton and Briley play Disney music to success is preparation. “You have to “It was like the balloon graveyard in before events to get into character. really nail down your technique and my house.” know what you’re going to do,” Giger In August, the duo developed a says. “It’s second nature.” business model with a goal of earning an extra $100 per Giger also stresses completing every painting quickly to month. The money will be put toward their weddings, both keep the lines moving. Usually, each design takes three to of which are this spring. After receiving positive feedback, five minutes while a more complicated pattern takes up to the pair launched their company, Inflatable Canvas, in September. They are currently booked solid for the next six 10 minutes. Both Giger and Benton say their most popular design is a full-face tiger. weeks and have had to turn down events. The cost to hire Presentation is important to establish a relationship the company varies per gig but normally starts at $75 per with clients. Briley and Benton often appear at events in hour per artist. full costume — usually princesses or superheroes. Some of Now Briley can make anything with balloons. She says their costumes are homemade. it took her about three months to feel proficient. “I can’t even explain how happy it makes other people “I think part of the reason people wait in line for so and how happy it makes me,” Briley says. “It’s the coolest long is so they can actually watch me do it,” Briley says. thing I possibly could have ever done.” “It’s so simple, but people just love it.” PHOTOS BY DAVIS WINBORNE
TIPS FOR STARTING AN EVENT COMPANY Five ways to take a business from dreaming to doing 1. Perfect your craft: Briley thought she’d never become proficient at balloon art. After three months of tireless practice, she could make just about anything. 2. Keep your eye on the prize: Briley initially had mixed reactions from her friends and family, some of whom worried that her goal of starting a company wouldn’t pan out. She decided the risk was worth it, and her determination paid off. 3. Be a bargain: Briley and Benton’s first official event took place at a free showcase at Stephens Lake Park in August 2016. It gave them the exposure they needed to attract clients. 4. Get your name out there: Social media sites give the company a presence and allow them to interact with clients. Customer reviews are crucial to their continued success. 5. Attention to detail: Briley and Benton take extra steps to make sure events are fun for everyone in attendance. Their custom decorations and costumes earned them referrals and returning customers.
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THE SCENE
Have wheels, will serve The trials and errors of opening a crepe food cart have a sweet reward for customers BY MARISSA RUBINO Food carts, while hard to find, fit in somewhere between food trucks and traditional restaurants. One Jefferson City couple decided to give a European dessert the mobile restaurant treatment. The crepe is a staple of European cuisine, but it’s a rare find in CoMo. There are local restaurants that serve crepes, such as Cafe Poland, and chains, such as IHOP, but the market is scarce. Tiffany Walker and Carla Kessell, the co-owners of Eat. Crepe. Love., which opened in August 2016, are serving up these light, thin pastries right off the griddle. Although a food cart seems effortless compared to a permanent restaurant, it proves to be anything but. Finding a cart for Eat. Crepe. Love. was the first challenge. Walker and Kessell could not find any cart-makers in Missouri; they were all in major cities on the coasts and would cost upward of $10,000. They eventually transformed a hot dog cart into their mobile restaurant. Next came the crepe-makers, which were just as difficult to come by as the cart. Walker ordered two straight from France for about $1,000 each. Once converted to run on American propane, the machines became long-term cost savers. Only two crepes can be made at a time, and customers can sometimes wait over half an hour for their specialty crepe. However, Kessell says the care put into the crepes, which are all made from scratch, makes them worth the wait. “With a crepe, you can essentially change the menu all day long because it’s just a vehicle to put the ingredients in,” says Kessell. The options include spicy Thai shrimp and several cheesecake variations. Food trucks can be fairly expensive to purchase and maintain, but carts have the benefit of less overhead and more mobility. Eat. Crepe. Love. primarily works events outdoors and indoors because the cart provides so much flexibility. Just as Walker and Kessell needed to learn the ropes of the food cart industry, so did local licensing offices. The city of Columbia’s Business Licensing Department helped the couple through the process of getting a license; luckily the city has had specific rules in place 20
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ABOVE: The filling for a sweet chocolate-pecan crepe melts on a griddle at the Eat. Crepe. Love. food cart inside Dogmaster Distillery. Chocolate and pecans are just two of dozens of ingredients available in the crepes. LEFT: Carla Kessell, whose crepe company is on wheels, pours batter and waits for another crepe to cook.
for mobile restaurants since 2014. For instance, carts and trucks must purchase a meter bag from the Public Works Department, which lets them park in metered spaces downtown for extended periods of time. The actual permits can be temporary or longer running, depending on an owner’s needs. For now, the crepe cart operates with a temporary permit, which Walker and Kessell say will be more expensive in the long run. In Jefferson City, where the couple is based, rules and regulations regarding mobile restaurants are still murky. Downtown Jefferson City currently doesn’t allow any food trucks or carts.
The presence of Eat. Crepe. Love. could 500 feet from an event or concert. For change the rulebook as the area becomes Walker and Kessell though, a truck familiar with the needs of businesses such or a traditional restaurant was never as food carts. an option. A cart “You can’t provides them the WITH A CREPE, YOU CAN just go set up on opportunity to just ESSENTIALLY CHANGE THE a street corner have fun with their somewhere MENU ALL DAY LONG BECAUSE unique business like you can and travel to their IT’S JUST A VEHICLE TO PUT in Columbia,” customers. says Kessell. THE INGREDIENTS IN. “We don’t want Still, the city – CARLA KESSELL to be in a position of Columbia’s where we are mass business services managers regulate that producing things,” Kessell says. “If it gets you cannot set up your mobile restaurant to the point where it’s not fun, we don’t within 300 feet from a restaurant and want to do it.” PHOTOS BY DAVIS WINBORNE
ARTS & BOOKS
Review: Setting Free the Kites
Local author Alex George’s new novel doesn’t shy away from humor, love and heartache Although Columbia author Alex George’s latest book, Setting Free the Kites, could be labeled a traditional coming-of-age tale, that would be doing a disservice to the emotional depth he reaches. The book explores the friendship between two very different boys: careful and reserved Robert Carter, the narrator, and bold and adventurous Nathan Tilly. They deal with their fair share of loss throughout the story but also with more common aspects of growing up, such as family and romance. The novel began with the idea for Nathan’s character, which came when George watched a documentary about Philippe Petit, the high-wire artist who walked between the Twin Towers in 1974. Once he had this daredevil character, George started crafting the book with the ending in mind, an unusual move for him. In the novel, Robert and Nathan are growing up in Maine in the 1970s. George grew up in England and moved to the U.S. in 2003, but his descriptions still feel authentic. “I think that most of the emotions
F E B R U A RY:
BY RACHEL PHILLIPS
I THINK THAT MOST OF THE EMOTIONS AND THE THINGS THAT THE BOYS GO THROUGH, WHETHER YOU’VE GROWN UP IN MAINE OR SOUTH CAROLINA OR BERLIN OR PARIS OR ARGENTINA, THEY’RE ALL THE SAME.
– ALEX GEORGE
and the things that the boys go through, whether you’ve grown up in Maine or South Carolina or Berlin or Paris or Argentina, they’re all the same,” George says. The strength in George’s writing lies in his ability to sweep readers up in the story. He masterfully captures the mind of a young boy in a way that readers of all ages and genders can connect. His captivating descriptions pull readers into the landscape of Maine in the ’70s and the amusement park and old paper mill where the boys’ adventures take place. The pacing is sometimes slowed down by George’s tendency to overwrite. He is an expert at composing short but emotional and revealing sentences.
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Occasionally, however, he expounds on the point he has made by expanding the anecdote. This can cut the power of those scenes and slow the pace, but readers who are enveloped in the story will find it easy to stick with the plot. George combines wit, sorrow and nostalgia into a story readers young and old will not forget. There is something heartbreaking and real about what the boys face. Readers will feel their sadness, even if they’ve never experienced the same kind of loss. “I write to connect with my readers and to move them,” George says. “I hope that they will recognize within those tales something of themselves.”
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Local author Alex George published his second novel Setting Free the Kites earlier this month. The book is set in 1970s Maine and was a Barnes & Noble national pick for Best Fiction of February 2017.
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the musical Book, Music, & Lyrics by Kevin Murphy & Laurence O’Keefe Based on the film written by Daniel Waters Heathers the Musical was originally directed Off-Broadway by Andy Fickman and choreographed by Marguerite Derricks
“Heathers the Musical” is presented by special arrangement with SAMUEL FRENCH, INC.
Adults Students Seniors
12 $ 10 $ 10
$
1800 Nelwood Drive; Columbia, MO | 573.474.3699 | www.cectheatre.org PHOTO COURTESY OF SHANE EPPING
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NATHAN TODD sticks with Bleu through its many transformations
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athan Todd is used to keeping several plates spinning at all times. After starting out as a cater waiter and shop boy with Bleu Restaurant and Catering when it was just a market in 2008, he worked his way up as the company transitioned into a restaurant. Now it has progressed even further and transformed into Bleu Events, which focuses exclusively on catering. Bleu Events is trying to expand across Missouri. Todd, 34, serves as director of Dining Services for Stephens College as well as Fresh Ideas, Bleu’s parent company, and events director for Bleu Events. Todd is prepared to handle any task that comes his way. His responsibilities include tasks such as figuring out gala centerpieces or hanging cutting boards. Amid his hectic schedule, Todd sat down with Vox to discuss his work with Bleu. What career did you imagine for yourself when you were younger? I thought I was going to be a mortician. I was enamored by it from sixth grade until my senior year of high school. Coming from a small town, there were few jobs that were business-related and or profitable. A funeral home in a small town is one of the more upper-end jobs, so in my mind at the time, success equaled a career in that world. Later in life, I became good friends with a guy who ran a funeral home in Columbia, and we discussed our roles in what we do. It’s basically the same except we do it with food, and they do it with bodies. Because you’re dealing with people during sensitive times, it’s all bells and whistles, props and decorations. They process bodies, and we process food.
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Why have you stayed with Bleu for this long? It’s just really good people. I can stand next to the people I work with 14 hours a day and not be mad about it. I never wanted to be in a situation where I cringed going into work because I didn’t want to deal with so-and-so today. It still provides me with opportunity to grow and to learn new things. I’m continuously challenged. It’s ever-evolving, and I love where I work. How did you develop your work philosophy? I’ve adapted well to the hospitality industry because I grew up on a farm. There’s no hours or weekends on a farm. Growing up, I was active in extracurriculars and other things, but the animals don’t care that you don’t feel well. The animals don’t care that you’re busy this afternoon, and they don’t care that you’re tired. Sometimes on a farm that meant you’re there before the sun comes up, and you’re there after the sun comes down. You might be there in the middle of the night if a sow goes into labor. When I moved into restaurant hours in the hospitality world, I never thought anything of it. I was used to taking care of business on a Sunday. What advice do you have for people who are just starting their careers? Don’t be afraid to get dirty. You don’t have to do what everybody else does. I see a lot of people who come in, and they get comfortable; they do what everybody else does. There’s zero shame in working hard. That extra attention to detail, that extra 15 minutes, will be noticed. – IDA SOPHIE WINTER PHOTO BY IDA SOPHIE WINTER
THE TO-DO LIST
this week in Columbia
ARTS & CULTURE Black Queer Film Festival: Major! Make sure to take part in the second annual Black Queer Film Festival at MU. Major! follows the life of a 75-year-old black transgender activist, Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, who has been working for more than 40 years to fight for the rights of transgender women of color. Tonight, 6 p.m., MU RSVP Center, Free, 882-3780
MU Improv presents CoMotion
Sit back and laugh at the fifth annual CoMotion Improv Festival. MU Improv hosts college and professional improv groups from all over the country for two zany performances. Friday’s showcase is in The Shack, and Saturday’s is at Memorial Union’s Stotler Lounge. Fri.–Sat, 7 p.m., The Shack, Free, muimprov@gmail.com
CIVIC Friends of the Callaway County Public Library Lobby Book Sale
Friends of Callaway County Public Library as well as Columbia Public Library, Daniel Boone Regional Library and Southern Boone County Public Library are invited to its upcoming book fair. Children’s books are 25 cents, paperbacks are 50 cents and hardbacks and large paperbacks are $1. Today, 4:30–6 p.m., Callaway County Public Library, Free, 642-7261
FOOD & DRINK February Epic Pie Tasting
Fill your stomachs with 12 different kinds of pie. Bring drinks and a pair of stretchy pants because you won’t want to put your fork down until you have eaten all you can. One ticket will buy you all the pie you can eat plus some leftovers for the day after. Tonight, 6–9 p.m., Peggy Jean’s Pies, $20, 447-7437
Tri-Parish Fat Saturday Party
Join the three Catholic parishes of Columbia to celebrate Fat Saturday. There will be dinner and dessert from Jazz: A Louisiana Kitchen. To accompany the great food and drinks, the Norm Ruebling Band will play all night long. Saturday, 5:30–10 p.m., Knights of Columbus Hall, $30-35, 449-5424
MUSIC Mizzou Idol
Come check out local talent at Mizzou Idol. Winning performers will be rewarded with time in a recording studio. You might just watch the next Kelly Clarkson. Listen to the contestants beforehand in videos posted on Mizzou Life’s YouTube. Saturday, 7 p.m., The Shack, Free, 882-3780
Cash Bash 2017
In celebration of the late, great Johnny Cash
and his 84th birthday, four native Missouri bands — Lara Hope and The Ark-Tones, Jordan Thomas and His Designated Drivers, Schuyler Prenger and The Dirt Road Junkies, and The Kay Brothers — are preparing for a night of fun, good company and nothing but Cash. Be sure to bring your dancing shoes because it’s going to be a wild one. Saturday, 9 p.m., Rose Music Hall, $6, 874-1944
SPORTS Missouri Women Basketball vs. Ole Miss
~ PLUNGE LIKE THERE’S NO MANANA! WHO: YOU AND ALL OF YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS DATE: SATURDAYS RANGING FROM JAN. 28-MARCH 4 PLACE: AT A BODY OF WATER NEAR YOU RSVP: WWW.SOMO.ORG/PLUNGE FOR: 15,000+ SPECIAL OLYMPICS MISSOURI ATHLETES
Cheer for the Mizzou Tigers! The MU women’s basketball team will take to the court and go head-to-head with Ole Miss in their last home game of the season. Tonight, 7 p.m., Mizzou Arena, $8 adults; $5 seniors or youth, 884-7297
Stephens College Basketball vs. William Woods University
The William Woods University basketball team will take a half-hour trip from Fulton to Columbia to compete with the Stephens Stars. Tonight, 7 p.m., Silverthorne Arena, $3 children and students with ID; $5 adults, 876-7196
SCREEN Collide (PG-13)
One man finds himself in the midst of a crime when a robbery goes wrong and he needs to protect his girlfriend from mobsters. He asks his drug-smuggling former boss to help them stay safe from the men who want to kill them. R RUNTIME = 1:39
Get Out (R)
This movie follows a black photographer who is unsure about meeting his white girlfriend’s parents. He becomes terrified when he finds out their town is hiding a conspiracy, which has led to the disappearance of several black people. F, R RUNTIME= 1:44
Still playing
50 Shades Darker (R) F, R A Cure for Wellness (R) F, R A Dog’s Purpose (PG) R Fist Fight (R) F, R The Great Wall (PG-13) F, R Hidden Figures (PG) F, R Jackie (R) RT John Wick: Chapter 2 (R) F, R La La Land (PG-13) R Lego Batman Movie (PG) F, R Lion (PG-13) RT Manchester by the Sea (R) RT Moonlight (R) RT Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (PG-13) R Sing (PG) R Split (R) F, R
Theaters F = Forum R = Regal
Columbia, Bass Pro Lake March 4, 2017 Schuster@SOMO.org 573.635.1660
MISSOURI
SOMissouri
RT = Ragtag = Available in 3-D
The Polar Plunge is one of many events hosted by law enforcement to benefit their charity of choice, Special Olympics Missouri. All proceeds benefit year-round sports training and athletic competition for children and adults with intellectual disabilities.
PlungeMO
Register and fundraise online at
SOMissouri
SOMO.ORG/PLUNGE
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Get the story on Columbia’s latest showings. MOVIE REVIEWS VoxMagazine.com