Ampersand Magazine

SWIPE RIGHT 10 BENDING THE NORM 15 IT'S IN THE STARS 16 HELLO JUICE & SMOOTHIE 19

S P R I N G 2 0 1 9 • VO LU M E S E V E N T E E N • I S S U E T WO

HELLO JUICE! (& SMOOTHIE): Local organic juice and smoothie joint takes over St. Louis.

PAGE 22 SPRING 2019 • VOLUME SEVENTEEN • ISSUE TWO

TABLE

ETC 5

TO BEEF OR NOT TO BEEF

6 From Our Kitchen

To Yours 7

Guts n’ Glory

STYLE

PROFILE 8

An Icon living

32

in her element

34

Drag by Night

of

13

A Signature Part of Me

14 Capsule WARDrobe 15 Bending the norm

on the cover Javier Cervantes, featured in our Style section on page 15 photo by Matt Hayes

CONTENTS

GLOBAL 22

FINDING MY PLACE IN GHANA

25

an intl American

CULTURE 10

Swipe Right

16

What’s ur sign?

38 26

booze cruise

27 The Gallery

REVIEWS 19

Hello Juice! & Smoothie

20

Roger’s Produce

21

Licks n Lattes

PING! Revival

38 voices

Letter

from the

EDITORS

Dear Readers, Let’s start off by saying we absolutely love what we do. Our passion for this publication and all it entails soars higher each issue and with each semester’s new team of creatives. There are countless sleepless nights of working hard, many group chats filled with, “Do you like this color?” or “What about this layout for this story?” and lots of love for what we do. There are also those well-deserved margarita nights after class at Fuzzy’s Tacos that we can’t resist.

This semester we met our best friends and our best teammates. The creative energy that we feed off of one another is what keeps us going week after week. We get excited about the ideas that come up on nights we stay after class to make sure this publication is the best that it possibly can be for our readers not only at Webster but around the St. Louis community.

We as editors come from different backgrounds of writing and editing, to film and design. We feel that it is our duty to use our backgrounds to make the Ampersand what it deserves to be. We are passionate. We are grateful. We are excited.

For everyone who contributed from the outside by being models, writers, photographers, you are overall an inspiration to the Ampersand staff.

Thank you for supporting us issue after issue. We hope to continually keep bringing relevant, touching and compelling stories and art to the students and staff of Webster University.

Thank you, Hayley & Nermina

Editors Nermina Ferkic Hayley Abshear

Adviser Karen Burch The magazine is produced on Apple computers using Adobe Creative Cloud. Swift Print Communications in St. Louis, Missouri, printed 1,200 copies of this issue. The text pages are printed 4 color process on 80-pound Endurance text weight. The cover is printed 4 color process on 80-pound Endurance gloss cover weight with a soft touch aqueous coat.

4 LETTER

STAFF Art Director Tara Jones

STAFF Charles Roberts Eugene Trinklein Ampersand is free of charge to all Webster students, staff and faculty.

Ampersand is produced as a part of JOUR 4390 Magazine Production.

The staff creates content for class credit and The Gallery is composed of submissions by Webster University students. To submit Gallery content, guest columns or letters to the editor, email Ampersand at

Maddy Dixon Norah Okilee Carolynne Brown Christina Raymo Mackenzie Devers Matt Hayes Kenya Rosabal Will Reinke websterampersand@gmail.com.

Download the free app at the App Store for exclusive content. websterampersand.com websterampersand@gmail.com 470 E. Lockwood Ave. St. Louis, MO 63119 314-246-6926

Beef? or not to Beef?

To

Students speak on being vegan, veggie or a meat-eater.

T

he popularity of veganism and vegetarianism has been rapidly increasing. While most of us may know of at least one vegan or vegetarian, most Americans do not abide by either of those lifestyles. While there has not been a large growth in American vegans or vegetarians, there has been a rise in the sales of plant-based products. A Gallup Poll reports the sale of plant-based foods has grown by 8.1 percent, just in 2017, signaling an overall increased interest in these type of products.

There are a plethora of reasons as to why someone chooses to be a vegan, vegetarian and a meat-eater.

Vegan

Meat

A mere seven percent of Americans aged 18-29 identify as vegetarian, according to a Gallup poll. Evie Bennett, Webster University freshman, has been living a vegetarian lifestyle for the past four years.

A Gallup poll reports that 94 percent of Americans have meat as an essential part of their diet. Many individuals who eat meat have tried being vegan or vegetarian in the past and found that it did not work for them, like Meghan Storts, freshman.

“I’ve been vegetarian for a little over four years. When I first cut out meat it was mostly kind of a diet thing,” Bennett says. “It was something my mom did in high school and college to stay in shape and feel healthy.

Once I stopped eating meat though the thought of eating meat really disgusted me.”

“I’ve tried the veganism and vegetarianism in past and I felt more clean when I did it,” Storts says. “But the urge to eat it was too strong. I don’t support like the way that they treat the animals and stuff though.”

Vegetarian While the percentage of Americans that are vegetarian may be low, it still remains higher than those who identify as vegan. Sydney Leiser, Webster University freshman, became a vegan four months ago.

“I had a lot of friends go vegan and it never crossed my mind cause I ate pretty healthy and I got a lot of exercise,” Leiser says. “I felt a moral obligation eat a more clean plant based diet.”

Story and Photo by Maddy Dixon

5 ETC

Kitchen

From OuR

F

to Yours

rom the cafeteria to the dinner table, grilled cheese and tomato soup has been a classic for generations. Before dance practices, after soccer games, recovering from the cold - this staple meal has found itself in the “Nostalgic Dinner Hall of Fame,” so to speak.

With the reliable grouping of bread, cheese and soup, there is plenty of room for mods and messes. There’s no wrong way to make your dish. It’s up to you to decide what makes this meal quintessential. However, from our kitchen to yours, here’s our take.

INGREDIENTS 2 Slices of Provolone 2 Slices of Gouda 2 Slices of Bread Butter

• • • • • • • • • •

Butter both sides of a slice of bread and lay in heated skillet Layer gouda and provolone on top Repeat step 1 and place on top of other half Flip your grilled cheese until both sides are golden and crisp Add 1 can of tomato soup into heated pot Add 3/4 cup of water into pot Stir together Add pinch of salt and peper Add in 2 tbsp. of milk Stir and tweak for taste

STORY & photo BY Norah Okilee

ETC 6

1 Can of Tomato Soup Pinch of Salt & Pepper 3/4 Cup of Water 1 tbsp. of Milk

Guts n’

Glory How to keep your gut healthy and happy

L

et’s talk about guts. The large intestine, small intestine, stomach and colon are collectively much like the second brain. Studies show that the bacteria inside our stomachs control our serotonin and dopamine levels. In other words, if you have an icky gut, you have an even ickier mood. Normal aspects of everyday life like high stress and eating sugary high-processed foods are all things that can severely damage our gut bacteria.

But, like most things, there are ways to combat these problems.

Probiotics There are 300 to 500 different species of bacteria living in your digestive tract right now. They are microbiome friends, and some of them are here to help, but not always. Probiotics are supplements that provide “food” for the good bacteria in your stomach for more of them to grow. Studies find that good stomach bacteria helps the immune system, depression symptoms, obesity in addition to many other health benefits.

Hot Water Think about the concept of hot yoga. The purpose of it is to reap the benefits of the temperature, because when it’s warm, the body is able to stretch and move more fluidly. The same is true for your gut. Drinking only hot water throughout the day (especially before breakfast) sends a message to your colon to wake up and move. The muscles inside your torso are able to be warm and move more frequently and fluidly, causing a healthy schedule of digestion, as well as helping keep those good bacteria alive and well.

Fermented and High Fiber Foods It has been well studied that sauerkraut, yogurt, kimchi, tempeh, miso, and kefir are all fermented foods that help serve as natural dietary probiotics. In addition, your mom is right, fiber is good for you. Dietary fiber, found mostly in fruits, vegetables, and legumes have numerous health benefits, other than making you go to the bathroom.

Studies have shown that it helps aid in weight loss, lowers cholesterol levels, helps control blood sugar as well as help you live longer.

Stress Control This is probably the most important factor of your gut health because it’s sneaky. Most of the time in high stress situations, the last thing a person thinks about is how it’s affecting their gut. And by the time they do realize it, it’s too late. As much as it is not easy to just “control your stress,” practicing mindfulness is important to your body and its health. Try to be mindful every day when it comes to what you put in your body and how you treat it. Keep it fed and hydrated.

Story by Hayley Abshear Iillustration by Tara Jones 7 ETC

An Icon Living

8 PROFILE

When Daniela Piazzi found herself living in Aruba, she did not expect to become an icon. But she did.

W

hen Daniela Piazzi found herself living in Aruba, she did not expect to become an icon. But she did. Born in Puerto Rico, Piazzi was born into a traveler’s dream of living in multiple countries all within the span of her adolescence. After just months of being born she was moved to Aruba, then to Columbia, Ecuador, then back to Aruba, then to Holland, Thailand, and finally landed in the U.S., specifically in this gem of a city, St. Louis, Missouri.

She joined the workforce at the young age of 12 at her family friends restaurant, where she worked her way up to a bartender at 14, as well as becoming the head hostess for the local film festival in Aruba that same year. From mingling with the stars in the green room at the festival, she landed an internship at a local PR firm at the age of 15.

“Being on a small island, you have a ton of opportunities. Because of the connections you have since they know you or your parents, you get a lot of opportunities that you would not get in America.”

Piazzi gained so much knowledge from these experiences that she decided to start her own business at the age of 16 called Aruba Hostesses, providing and managing hostesses to local high profile events. Her niche got her recognised and it grew rapidly, where she hired girls to fill these positions that she created.

Just a year later, she decided to pursue her childhood dream of being in

a pageant. Losing nearly 30 pounds in 3 months, she threw herself into an extremely competitive, harsh environment of neigh sayers and bullies who constantly tore her down and ripped her self esteem to bits.

“What’s important about that, is it jump started my career. The local news affiliate of NBC saw me doing these speeches, and they asked me to come in for an interview for their english news show called 15 on 15.”

“It was a really hard experience.

People kept breaking me down. But I learned a lot about myself… and I ended up taking the crown.”

Out of three candidates in the interview process, Piazzi was picked.

The show featured her for 15 minutes every night on the only english speaking news channel in the country, and basically left the rest of the production up to her. Within her first 6 months, after countless hours of hard work and vigilant self criticism, she became the number one viewed news segment in Aruba.

After the drama of the first pageant, she teamed with her best friend and only constant in her life, her mother, to take on the crown once again.

“

It was a really hard experience. People kept breaking me down. But I learned a lot about myself… and I ended up taking the crown.”

Daniela With the multiple categories to compete in and Miss Beauty World being the ultimate crown of them all, Piazzi entered with her mom as her only supporter against these other girls who had teams of people behind them.

“I did that for about a year and a half, and it came to a point where I realized I had nothing more to learn there. I wanted to grow, and end up at an international news station. So that’s when I decided to go back to school to get my degree, so I could learn how to evolve my stories and mature them.”

That is how Piazzi’s journey brought her to Webster. She studied in Leiden, then Thailand, where she met and befriended some friendly American transfers who encouraged her to check out st. Louis, where she is now a fulltime student double majoring in International Relations and Media Communications.

Story by Matt Hayes Photo by Christina Raymo

Despite a previous pageant agent telling her that if she competed it would would be an embarrassment to the island, she persisted; and won.

9 PROFILE

Webster students and how they use dating apps *Students by the names of Sam and Alex are anonymous sources

SIRI, OPEN tinder Dead fish. Left. Cute dog. Right.

Shotgun. Left. Hiking in the mountains. Right. In this new, evolved world of dating, the emphasis on how someone looks and the significance of that first impression holds more importance than ever.

Users download the app, verify through their email or Facebook, add a bio, pick their best photos and that’s it. They can even display their favorite song and add their job or education history to their profile.

From there, you’re able to swipe through potential matches. A swipe right means you’re interested, and a swipe left means you’re not.

In the app’s early days, 90 percent of the users were between the ages of 18-24. Tinder was marketed towards younger, college-aged people at the start. Since then, the percentage of college-aged users on Tinder is just above 50 percent, as other demographics have expanded.

In 2018, the company introduced CULTURE 10

Tinder U, which is basically the same as the standard Tinder account, however, it’s aimed directly at college students, requiring a university email to register. It claims to be for much more than hookups and dating. It includes study buddies, meeting friends and networking with others at your university.

According to a study from LendEDU, who asked nearly 10,000 collegeaged students why they use Tinder, 44 percent said confidence-boosting procrastination, 23 percent said looking for a hook-up, and only 4 percent said they were looking for a relationship.

In another question from the study, which asked almost 4,000 college students if they’ve ever met up with a match from Tinder, 29 percent said yes, and 71 percent said no.

Franklin started using Tinder in fall of 2018 and hasn’t had much luck.

She decided to make an account after getting out of a three year relationship.

“I didn’t know how to not be in a relationship, so I just kind of dived into dating apps… and I have not had any success with them,” Franklin says.

She also says the quick nature of giving someone a yes or no is “superficial”. With some people speedswiping through just to find a match and start a conversation, and others analyzing a user as much as they can, based on the given information, the time it takes to find a match can vary.

This is also different depending on the person and, of course, what the motive behind the swipe search is.

Compatibility

In Franklin’s experience, it’s common for Tinder conversations to quickly go south.

These statistics hold truth, Webster student Kelly Franklin says.

“You’ll swipe on someone, you match, you start talking, then you’re like

“

I didn’t know how to not be in a relationship, so I just kind of dived into dating apps… and I have not had any success with them.”

Kelly Franklin

‘Nevermind…’. I had a picture of me playing guitar as my main picture,” Franklin says. “People would swipe on me and say ‘That looks so cool!’, then they talk to me and it wasn’t compatible. They just judge you based off of your photos.”

Franklin says actually matching with somebody is unlikely because there’s often not enough momentum to keep a conversation going long enough to get to know someone.

“I would swipe on anything musical… then we’d match, and you’d try to talk about that, but it’s just not enough of a connection between us to spark something,” Franklin says. “At first it’s cool because you have a lot to talk about. But then the conversation keeps going, and you run out when you realize that’s all you have to talk about,” Lighting design major and Webster junior Jayson Lawshee agrees on the image obsessed reality Tinder holds.

“I think it has made dating very

artificial,” Lawshee says. “We are making quick judgments based on looks without knowing anything about a person. It’s considered a dating app, but there is far more to dating than hot or not. Dating has become something you do when you are bored like a videogame. I think that is what the majority of people on Tinder use it as.”

Safety With as little as a valid email address needed to create a profile, just about anyone has access to Tinder. This creates lots of space for fake accounts and internet predators, like catfishes and trolls.

Webster student Alex stresses the importance of taking precaution when meeting your match.

“I mean, obviously it’s [safety] less of a concern for me as a guy, and a pretty large guy at that,” Alex said.

“I’m just shocked at the number of people I meet up with from Tinder that willjust tell me to come to their

house without ever having met them. Let’s just meet at a bar, drink one drink. It takes 15 minutes, and then we can go to someone’s house.

Honestly, just meet in public. Make sure the person you’re meeting is the person you’re meeting,” While Tinder’s website has a safety page regarding maintaining financial and physical protection, the scare factors aren’t always easy to foresee.

Despite Tinder’s good intentions, the app’s network has still been a hotspot for rape and fraud., AKA Catfishers.

Also, these nightmares aren’t always known of right at the point of your first in-person interaction with your match. Different from traditional dating, these toxic behaviors can be discovered over time, which more or less results from not knowing your match well enough before delving into whatever relationship is established. Additionally, it is not always physical abuse, but getting into the wrong relationship, regardless of how you meet, an result in other forms of abuse such as CULTURE 11

neglect, manipulation, gaslighting or any other form of psychological abuse. Webster student Sam has encountered some of these Tinder nightmares. After breaking up with a long term partner, they went to Tinder for a rebound.

CULTURE 11

“So what did I do? I called up a creepy, Tinder boy as a recound because I didn’t know what else to do,” Sam recalls, laughing. “We went to a nearby park, hiked a little, then I had the worst sex of my life in the woods.

He lasted, like, seven minutes, a mosquto bit my ass, and when they dropped me at my house later, they asked me for gas money.”

STORY BY NORAH OKILEE ILLUSTRATION BY TARA JONES

A

Signature

PA R T O F M E

Webster professors strut their iconic wardrobe pieces When walking around Webster’s campus, you may notice some professors with signature style elements. DJ Kaiser, the associate dean of Webster University’s School of Education, is never seen without a matching bowtie, pocket square, and cufflinks. Terri Reilly, one of Webster’s faculty, wears green sunglasses that she is rarely seen without.

“

I don’t want anything to happen to these sunglasses,“ Reilly says. “Now, I’m like, ‘what am I going to do when these finally wear out or something happens to them?’ I’m really careful with them, I never leave them lying around, so I’m like ‘what am I going to do?’

I’ve been thinking in the back of my head ‘maybe I should start looking online’ because these have become such a signature part of me.”

“

People treat you a little differently,“ Kaiser says. “I’d had a really stressful day and I went to the grocery store and the person who was at the checkout line just said ‘nice bow tie!’ and I had this moment realizing I’ve had a stressful day, I’m probably not in the best mood that I would like to be in, but wearing a bow tie cheered up this woman who had been working and standing on her feet all day.”

STORY and PHOTOS BY CAROLYNNE Barrow

STYLE 13

CAPSULE WARDROBE “Does it bring you joy?”

A

lmost all of us are guilty for buying stand-alone clothes even though we resort to wearing our old favorites time and time again. It’s no coincidence we have a closet full of clothes but “nothing to wear.” So why do we keep spending money on dissatisfying wardrobe pieces if they’re destined for the donations box?

Let’s face it - our energy could be used towards what really matters. This means less time spent deciding what to wear, shopping, or doing laundry, less money spent on clothes that never get worn, and more time/money for our dreams (thanks Marie Kondo). If you’re done feeling overwhelmed on the daily, it’s time to start a capsule wardrobe.

1. REDUCE Lay out your entire wardrobe. See what you’ve acquired, what you’ve spent, and what you never wear.

2. SORT Sort the items into categories: love, maybe, donate, and trash.

3. DECIDE Make a list of your items by occasion. Begin with items you use

every day and your go-to clothing items. This list may change over time as seasons and work/life situations change. Having a color palette helps, too.

You may ask, “Do I have to give it all up?” Less isn’t nothing. Plus, staples like underwear, sleepwear, layering items, and workout clothes don’t count as part of your capsule. Once you’ve cleared your space, taken care of the donate and trash piles, and picked your items, you don’t have to give up the items remaining in your love or maybe piles. Instead, stow them away for a while. Distance can help make decisions.

After 3 months of dressing using your capsule, revisit the items you chose to box up. Use them for a future capsule, or if you feel differently about them, let them go. The only rule? Don’t go shopping until you plan for your next capsule during the last two weeks of the season. The amount you buy for the next capsule is up to you, but remember: less is more.

STYLE 14

WHAT IS A CAPSULE WARDROBE? A small collection of 37 items or less including clothing, jewelry, accessories and shoes that encourages you to wear your favorite things every day - not necessarily the trendiest most stylish things.

It is rotated every season, and only consists of highly versatile pieces for all occasions. Note: Many of your items will appear in several if not all four collections.

WHAT’S THE POINT? To cultivate a minimalist, streamlined lifestyle and allow yourself peace of mind by simplifying your physical AND mental space. With a capsule wardrobe, you can figure out what matters, reduce decision fatigue, and create more room for what you love. If there are reasons you want to dress with less, write them down.

Understanding why you want to create a capsule wardrobe will help you stick with it after you learn how to build a capsule wardrobe.

STORY BY TARA JONES PHOTO BY MADDY DIXON

Bending he t

Norm

Webster student inspires self-expression through statement style.

J

avier Cervantes expresses himself through a spectrum of different themes to show how he feels in that moment.

Cervantes said he doesn’t let them define him, but he uses them as an extension of himself to inspire other people.

“There is obviously more to you than what you look like on the outside, but it [clothing] is like one extra step you can take,” Cervantes says.

Cervantes uses a lot of bright colors and some simple patterns to catch a crowd’s eye. He also mixes and matches them with a lot of simpler tones so they pop.

“I wear a lot of white,” Cervantes says. “I feel like it has the potential to be and match with any other color.”

the bat. A close friend and fellow conservatory student, Dorathy Johnston, said his style is the root of himself.

“He has a lot of Japanese inspiration,” Johnston says.

“Sometimes he will do a goth look, but it still has that root of Javi and that cute Japanese look.”

He uses bits of the Japanese culture like anime and other little things in the pop culture.

You can even see it in his

His long dark hair with bright colored accessories such as horns and scrunchies help give a final color pop to his look. It gives a firm expression to what makes him feel cute in that moment.

accessories. The most prominent one is the teddy bear that he struts around called Rilakkuma.

It doubles as emotional support and a pouch for pencils and his phone.

“I always have a theme,” Cervantes says. “Or sometimes I have an inspiration from something I like or a character that I like.”

Cervantes also keeps his style fluid. He doesn’t stick to any gender norms or what people want him to wear.

Javi will take the slightest part of a look and take it to a new realm with a color change that fits his mood or even adding a few elements to the look to make it inspired, but still new and fresh.

“He doesn’t really go with ‘boys’ clothes or ‘girls’ clothes, he just just kind of goes with what he is feeling,” Johnston says.

STORY BY CHARLES ROBerts PHOTO BY matt hayes

One of the styles Javi embraces to keep his looks new to the normal eye is adding a Japanese flare. It is noticeable to other people right off 15 STYLE

WEBSTER UNIVERSITY STUDENTS SPEAK ON HOW ASTROLOGY HAS AFFECTED THEM.

Business is booming in the universe. The idea that the sun, moon, stars and the planets can affect your mood, life and relationships is heating up as a trend. But for some, it’s a lifestyle.

T

he popular trend takes the form of Buzzfeed quizzes like, “What is your age based on your zodiac sign?” in which you have no choice but to click. Then to debates about if their partner’s or friend’s zodiac is compatible to their own using the app Co-Star. Spotify has even made playlists of songs listeners may want to hear based on their zodiac sign. It takes the form of memes and Twitter accounts.

Because of this, people have been quick to jump on the astrology train for a little bit of guidance here and there—or every day.

So what is it?

Astrology is the study of the positions and relationships of the sun, moon, stars and planets in order to judge their influence on human actions.

Within astrology are signs and planets that tell you things about yourself based on how they all align.

The information is based on your birthday, birth time and birth place.

The moon sign shows your emotions, moods and feelings. It analyzes our feelings and how we behave at night, alone in our bedrooms when no one is around. The sun sign is more intune with our overall identity, while our rising sign shows the “mask” you put on in front of others—how others see you.

As opposed to astronomy, astrology is not backed by scientists. But people use it because they believe it sheds light on what makes people the way they are, and there are people in the world who dedicate their life’s work to the study of it.

Unless you live under a rock, most people at least know what their zodiac sign is or have read their horoscope every once in a while. But in college, there’s a high number of students who not only pay attention, but they live it.

Once a non-believer of astrology, Webster student Amber Humphreys has found that astrology helps her understand herself better. By learning all of her different signs, such as her rising, sun and moon

signs, Humphreys says it has helped her come to terms with who she is as a person.

“I like to use astrology as sort of a guide to myself,” Humphreys says. “I am able to understand why I am the way I am and what my strengths and weaknesses are.”

Humphreys not only uses astrology for herself, but for others as well.

She actively looks at her friend’s and family's birth charts to see what they are feeling that day and if it's accurate or not.

Most astrology followers feel a very close connection to not only their sign, but also signs they are compatible with.

As a Libra, Humphreys says she never fell into what she calls the “stereotypical Libra box,” although she does say she fits into certain characteristics pretty well.

The other two water signs are Cancers and Scorpios. Then there are Earth signs, Capricorns, Taurus and Virgos, who tend to be more grounded and controlled. Fire signs, Aries, Leos, and Sagittarius, are more lively and aggressive, and air signs, Aquarius, Gemini, and Libra, are said to be the most adventurous.

Astrology has played a huge role in Bacon’s life. As a Resident Assistant (RA) at Webster, Bacon decorated his hall with an astrology theme. On each door, the names of the residents were on them including their zodiac sign.

“I wanted to make sure my residents were comfortable,” Bacon says. “I knew that even if people didn't necessarily like astrology, that’s something personal to them.”

“By finding my other signs, I was able to make sense of every part of me,” Humphreys says.

The goal of using astrology was to make it a conversation starter among people. Common rhetoric in the astrology world is certain signs get along with each other better than others.

Chester Bacon, senior game design major, also views astrology as a selfreflecting tool. He says it has helped him become more self-aware of the different parts of his personality.

Unlike Humphreys, Bacon says he fits into his zodiac sign perfectly, which is a Pisces.

Tarot cards are becoming increasingly popular in the astrology world as well. Tarot cards are used to show certain outcomes and influences that will take place in your life. From Humphreys’ experience with tarot cards she says she was amazed at the first card she pulled.

“I like to use astrology as sort of a guide to myself.

Amber Humphreys

The zodiac sign Pisces is a water sign, and Bacon says no other element would fit him better. As a water sign, it is said that they are more emotional and sensitive. Often considered the dreamers of the zodiac world.

“When I first saw the card was ‘strength’ I thought wow, this fits what I’m going through,” Humphreys says. “It’s almost like it could read my mind.”

Other things such as crystals, animals and aromatherapy have ties to astrology. With that being said, you can tie almost anything to astrology, which some argue is the beauty of it.

STORY BY kenya rosabal illustration by nermina ferkic

“The minute people meet me, they're like, oh, you’re a water sign,” Bacon says.

17 FEATURE

Hello, Juice!

(& Smoothie)

Blending up health benefits

. . .without blending in

H

ello Juice & Smoothie is as a refreshing juice bar that adds an amazing vibe to the St. Louis area, the juice bar which opened in the summer of 2018 and is located on near the grove on Newstead Ave. They are open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. until 6 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. The juice bar can be reached at (314) 376-4135.

From the Superfood elixirs to the unique smoothie bowls, guests are guaranteed that anything they put into their body will benefit their health and build them up in some way. Not only does Hello Juice strive to provide natural and plant-based ingredients, but they also pride themselves on their clean bohemian chic decor.

Their menu is well-rounded, including salads and oatmeal to pair with your morning or mid-afternoon pick-me-up. The kitchen’s open concept allows guests to see their items being prepared right in front of them, or if they would rather shop while they wait, there’s a second hand minimalist clothing and house decor shop in the corner to keep you busy.

Kaleigh Raynaud, a Hello Juice employee, said her favorite part

about her job is the community.

“My favorite thing about Hello is the people I’ve met there,” Raynaud says. “I’ve made a lot of friends and I love that.”

Guests range from families to college students. Senior political science major emphasising in foreign policy, Isaiah Santiago has been to the bar many times.

1000 S Newstead Ave, St. Louis, MO 63110 (314)376-4135

“The owners are super nice, the employees are always on point, and they have health-conscious food that is budget friendly,” Santiago says. “My favorite menu item is a tie between their bone broth or the dark chocolate-cherry smoothie bowl with added spinach.”

For college students, looking for a nice quiet place to study with healthy options can be difficult.

Hello Juice offers a quiet space to relax and hang out while filling your body with the best fuel possible.

“There’s no filler and fluff in our smoothies and juices, it’s always just healthy ingredients meant to make your body healthier,” Raynaud says.

STORY BY CHRISTINA RAYMO PHOTO BY WILL REINEKE

19 REVIEW

PRODUCE BY THE POUND, YEAR ROUND

Rogers Produce, the produce stand that has been feeding the community for 40 years.

W

hen we think of fresh local quality produce, we probably assume it comes at a premium price. While the grocery store is convenient, it is guaranteed to be more expensive than that little farmers market down the street.

If you ever venture outside of the main chain grocery stores in search for something more, you may have missed Roger’s Produce in Webster.

The majority of the produce at this quaint little hut comes from local midwestern farmers, along with some help from California, Washington, Florida and Mexico during the winter.

The colorful fruits and vegetables are organized into bins that are displayed for easy access, with paper bags available for your use to shop with ease. Not to mention the little golden puns that label every item.

Roger’s Produce is celebrating its 40th anniversary, marking four decades of open doors 9 a.m. - 7 p.m., every day of the year. Roger Krull (senior) started this business in 1979, and passed it down to his son Roger II, who currently works there daily and employs his close

family friends and brothers Joe and Nick Whitnell.

Roger’s Produce is an excellent choice for students on a tighter budget. With the ability to buy 5lb of apples for around a dollar a pound, you already have nearly four times the amount compared to the chain grocery stores. It is one of the cheapest produce stands in one of the nicest neighborhoods that St. Louis county has to offer, so supporting your small local businesses has never been an easier choice. Whitnell sums up their mission perfectly.

“

We provide cheap prices, try our best to keep the place clean and check the produce, always making sure it’s good. nick whitnell Joseph Tochtrop, a recent Webster Graduate, Game Design major and cook, chooses no other farmer’s markets than Roger’s, simply due to

625 E Lockwood Ave, Webster Groves, MO 63119 (314)962-9157

20 REVIEW

convenience and price. Located on Lockwood Avenue, it’s an easy 5-10 minute walk from campus. He does say, however that shoppers should always have backup plan for the items that Roger’s may not have. But they should still try.

“As long as [people] don’t mind shopping at a second place to get something Rogers doesn’t carry,” Tochtrop says.

Roger’s Produce is a family friendly, family-owned business located right around the corner. It offers great value and a friendly face to its customers, serving them every day, even on holidays. Check them out, and make sure to get their butternut squash; as per Tochtrop’s s request.

STORY BY matt hayes photos BY matt hayes & Christina raymo

LICKS and LATTES ST. LOUIS’ OWN CAT CAFE

M

auhaus Cat Cafe, located near the heart of downtown Maplewood, is a cozy corner of cats and coffee.

This radi-claw cafe offers not only a peaceful space to sip coffee, pet kitties and read the paper, but the cafe is also affiliated with Stray Haven, a volunteer/foster based non-profit animal rescue organization founded in St. Louis.

Through Stray Haven, cafe goers are able to adopt a cat they so inevitably fall in love with over licks and lattes.

Lounge assistant Jeremy Day says there are on average 17-19 cats in the shop at a time, with around two to four adoptions each week. He also says the time a cat would be in the shop has varied from two days to nine months.

With nearly 20 cats in-shop at once and new cats coming in every week to replace the adopted cats, on top of owning several other businesses, owners Ben Triola, a Webster alum

and former teacher, and Dana Huth have a lot of kibble in their bowls.

are also committed to creating high quality ingredients and food.

Before opening the space in November of 2016, Triola and Huth were not expecting they would open St. Louis’ first cat cafe. Despite their plentiful history of owning businesses from real estate to video games to software development, the paw-sibility of opening a cafe was never considered.

“Someone comes in, usually around 5:30 in the morning, and they start baking,” Triola says.

“All of our food, coffee syrups, basically everything you see there is made in-house. We’re really big on high quality ingredients and high quality food. Nothing is off the shelf, it’s all pretty much made on the premises.”

While visiting family in Thailand, they discovered a cat cafe in Bangkok. There, the idea of Mauhaus was born.

“It was such a cool, magical experience,” Triola says. “We just felt like, man, there’s nothing like this in St. Louis or the Midwest at that point. We decided on the spot, basically, let’s just do this, let’s just start one.”

Apart from always being cat and dog people, owners Triola and Huth

General manager and baker Alyssa Bennett was a pie baker before starting her job at Mauhaus.

There, she decorates cat cookies and pastries as creatively as she desires. A recent theme of hers was the popular, playful designs of Lisa Frank.

Triola says Mauhaus Cat Cafe only has one goal: “Create a really super chill, relaxed, magical experience, just like what we had when we went to our first cafe.”

STORY BY Norah okilee PHOTO BY nermina ferkic

3101 Sutton Blvd, Maplewood, MO 63143 (314)384-2287

21 REVIEW

Finding my place in

GHANA Contributed BY EMMA LARSON

One of the first questions locals ask when they meet me is, “Why did you choose to come here?” Until about a week ago, my answer always felt superficial: to experience a different culture, to have a non-traditional study abroad experience, to travel to a place about which I had extremely limited knowledge, aside from the stereotypical narrative of poverty and disease told by Western popular culture.

It is difficult to find the right words to describe my time in Ghana in a way that will truly convey the impact it has had on my life. I haven’t traveled across Europe, bouncing from country to country taking Instagram-worthy photos to show my friends back home. I have, however, immersed myself in Ghanaian culture and gained a much deeper understanding of the world around me--and my place in it.

Friends, a Foreigner and a Feminine Product January 18, 2019

“Oburoni” has become my second identity around here. It’s Twi for “foreigner,” or in my case, white girl. Passerby shout it to me from cars, on bicycles and at the market, further informing me of my foreign status.

My classmates have made it their mission to teach me how to speak Twi. So far, I only know a handful of GLOBAL 22

insults and “thank you.” Honestly, what more do I need to know?

They come from all over Africa, and because of them, I now realize Africa is a vast continent with a multitude of traditions and cultures. From them, I learned how to take a trotro, how to bargain at the markets and, of course, the seriousness of the debate between Ghana and Nigeria about who makes better jollof rice.

I was astounded by the overwhelming amount of kindness I received as soon as I entered the country. Ghana is full of strong, beautiful people––from my peers on campus and my co-workers at the West Africa AIDS Foundation (WAAF) to the mothers with infants strapped to their backs as they carry groceries in the market.

I’ve made wonderful friends who immediately accepted me and answer all of my questions with an open heart. With roughly 200 students, Webster Ghana is a small

campus. This has allowed me to really get to know––and learn from––my classmates. Some of my favorite memories have been swimming in the ocean at night, watching soccer games after class and group-hugging in the middle of the street.

One of the cultural differences I have yet to get used to is being routinely searched by law enforcement. My first weekend in Ghana, I went out with a group of friends to Osu, a part of town known for its bustling nightlife. As we were walking down the street, the police stopped us.

They searched the boys first (a little too intimately, if you ask me), and then went through the girls’ bags.

One of the officers was fascinated by a piece of chewed gum in my purse, and I felt self-conscious about its messy state.

He then proceeded to examine my tampon. Not knowing what it was, he twirled it around in the beam of

his flashlight. Everyone was amused, and finally, one of the guys shouted, “It’s just a tampon, man!” Instantly, the officer dropped it back into my purse like he had just seen the second coming of Christ.

More than a Cooking Lesson

February 9, 2019

One sweltering Saturday morning, I met a friend at a local market. As soon as she discovered my practically nonexistent experience with Ghanaian food, she became determined to educate me––with banku.

The best way I can describe banku is “sticky bread.” It’s dough made from ground corn and cassava, mixed with water and salt and stirred on the stove until it becomes a breadlike consistency. My friend decided to prepare the banku with okra soup.

If I’m being honest, my version of cooking consists of pasta and burnt toast, so making a traditional Ghanaian dish was way out of my comfort zone. We started by cleaning the chicken, slicing the vegetables and deveining the shrimp. We washed everything in a tub of water underneath her kitchen counter. As she was crushing up vegetables with a grinding stone, my friend stopped, looked at me dead in the eye and said, “This is the African version of a blender.”

We sat on her floor and cooked for three hours. I learned a lot about my friend that day. She lives by herself about a 10 minute walk from the market. She is originally from a village in the Volta Region, but she moved out a few years ago to help her parents financially. Her younger brother still lives with her parents in the village. She works full-time at WAAF and spends every evening teaching herself math to get into

college. She is 26 years old.

Eating banku is one of the most entertaining experiences I’ve had so far––entertaining, that is, for anyone who watches me attempt to eat it. First, you pinch off a piece of banku and roll it into a ball. Then, you dip your fingers in the hot soup and hope for the best. Okra soup is slimy, so you have to wave your hand around in a circular motion to deslime yourself and then shove it into your mouth as fast as you can so the soup doesn’t drip everywhere.

This is not a meal for delicate eaters.

Luckily, no one really pays attention to that in Ghana.

In Everlasting Memory February 16, 2019

I will never forget my visit to Elmina Castle. As the oldest European structure in Sub-Saharan Africa, Elmina was one of the major posts

“

I have, however, immersed myself in Ghanaian culture and gained a much deeper understanding of the world around me -- and my place in it.

EMMA LARSON

Left to Right: Emma joins her new friends on a trip to the beach. Ghana’s beauty can be seen everywhere.

23 GLOBAL

Continued from page 23.

during the transatlantic slave trade.

I was fortunate enough to visit the castle in 2019, Ghana’s “Year of Return.” This year marks 400 years since the first enslaved Africans arrived in North America.

I felt like I couldn’t breathe for most of the tour. I stood on the balcony overlooking the courtyard, just as the governor did when he chose which women he would take to his room and rape. I watched in awe as my classmate unsuccessfully tried to lift the cannon ball they chained to uncooperative women. I looked through the “Door of No Return,” the last place the slaves were kept before being taken to the ships.

Leaving Elmina Castle, there is an inscription that reads: “In everlasting memory of the anguish of our ancestors. May those who died rest in peace. May those who return find their roots. May humanity never again perpetrate

such injustice against humanity. We, the living, vow to uphold this.”

For some of my classmates, that visit was not their first––or even second–– to Elmina Castle. The experience showed me that something I am so far-removed from in America is still extremely pervasive in other parts of the world. Visiting Elmina Castle gave me a new perspective, and I think it is

an experience every American would tremendously benefit from.

Reflection Studying abroad in Ghana has taught me so much more than I ever could have imagined. I came here not knowing what to expect, and I will leave a better, more globally-minded version of myself.

I know now it is impossible for Americans to even begin to understand the African continent.

After one short month in Ghana, I am hardly an expert, but one thing I do know is I am forever changed by this experience.

Emma Larson is a sophomore studying journalism. Her favorite part of traveling is gaining new cultural perspectives.

CONGRATULATIONS

to our graduating student ambassadors

The International American From Vienna, Austria, to St. Louis, Missouri, Daisy James-Weidner is probably one of the few, if only, international students here on campus who is an American.

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ebster student Daisy James-Weidner is a Columbus, Ohio, native who is a junior majoring in media communications with a minor in international relations and German. Taking a gap year, where she worked at a bakery to save up, and then going to university across the world, she did not feel the need to follow the traditional route after high school.

Her interests did not solely lay in getting an education and settling into adulthood like the rest of her peers.

that Webster University Vienna would be a good home for her.

“If I’m going to go to college, I want to do it where I can not just learn from school but learn from what’s around me,” James-Weidner says.

James-Weidner’s first trip to Vienna was with her youth organization, CISV, at the young age of fifteen where her appreciation for the culture and lifestyle arose. With an affordable way of living and close familiarity, James-Weidner knew

“You have to be willing to kind of be out of your comfort zone for like a month or two to figure it out,” James-Weidner says.

The transitional period between Columbus and Vienna was an impactful growth period for James-Weidner. She learned to become more independent through responsibly managing her money, cooking for herself for the first time ever and navigating her new relationships. The biggest change for James-Weidner was not seeing her family as often who she would see every single day when at home and is very close to.

James-Weidner has been able to experience things like day road trips to Munich for Christmas markets and attending a food and wine festival by the river in Prague.

Traveling is where many of JamesWeidner’s friendships were formed.

“We sat next to the river, and it was beautiful,” James-Weidner says. “The sun was shining off the water and sparkling, we were just listening to the music and eating and drinking wine. It was perfect as a little moment.”

James-Weidner is continuing to step outside of her comfort zone this upcoming summer where she will be a part of a Korean language program in South Korea. From June to August, she will be furthering her knowledge of the Korean language.

As James-Weidner is preparing to enter her last year of university this upcoming fall, she says she has not decided yet whether she will stay abroad or come home to America.

“There’s very few places I think I would like, say no, like I don’t want to do that or no, I won’t go there,” James-Weidner says.

STORY BY Nermina Ferkic PHOTO BY Will reineke

25 GLOBAL

BoozeCruise

Bars abroad to show you how to be a tipsy traveler

Vienna Natalie von-Feilitszch-Hanley My favorite bar is dependent on what my budget is as well as what kind of atmosphere I am looking to have for the evening. Vienna certainly does not lack in good bars or cafes. If it’s a quick after uni drink I find myself sitting and sipping on a hot punch with a sliver of apple and a cinnamon stick aroma at Duzis just next to the uni.

On the other hand if I want to get a group together and have a casual get together I would end up in Dickmacks for a nice discounted price of 2 euro drinks or the popular 1 euro shots.

If I had to choose my favorite drink though it would have to be the Mai Tai from Duzis—ask for some mango juice for the mango Mai Tai. It is the perfect mix of fruity, sweet and just tropical enough to make me imagine myself sitting at the beach, or in the case here next to the Danube kennel.

GLOBAL 26

Ghana Dylan Patrick Pert-Smith

Leiden/Amsterdam

My favorite bars in Ghana were Purple Pub, Corner and Bloom Bar. There were bars open from 10 p.m.

- 4 a.m. that offered specialty drinks.

The drink at Purple Pub blew my mind. The bartender seemed to be mixing every drink he had and it always ended up blue. Another drink in West Africa is called Palm Wine. I had it a couple times but can’t really tell you anything about it. Ghana also had some awesome beers. You can’t get them in the U.S. but I still like them more than the ones here.

What I like about the nightlife is the great amount of diversity in music offered in Amsterdam. Only a 35-minute train ride into the city.

There’s a club or bar for everyone there, it’s not all the same generic stuff.

Thailand Amelia Dorsey Everyone goes out all the time.

Webster Thailand even has a designated student bar called Samsam. It’s the most popular place on the weekends. There is this ocean side bar that has a margarita made of lychees—a type of fruit in Thailand— and it’s delicious.

Frank Rietkerk

I missed that a lot while I was in STL. Also, since it’s somewhat of an international city there’s always a lot of life in the streets, even on a weekday, so whenever you feel like it you can hit a club and it will still be a sick ass night.

Favorite bar is probably this small bar very close to my house called “Bar Roseval.” It’s a really chill bar. Nice beers on draft, and a good gin and tonic. As I said, it’s quite small but that’s what makes it a cool place. I also know the owner a little now from coming there often so that’s nice too.

STORY BY mackenzie devers CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

the

y r

e l l

a g

Ampersand’s multimedia showcase features a variety of student-produced works, including photography, art, videos, prose, and more. The Gallery represents the culture and creativity of Webster’s student body.

RYAN GINES, SENIOR Major: Photography Shear Color Digital Photography

GALLERY

KIRA SVOBODA, JUNIOR Major: Art Outside Acrylic on Canvas

GALLERY

ALY CAMACHO, JUNIOR Major: Photography Girl Gaze on the Subway Digital Photograph

ISAAC KNOPF, SENIOR Major: Film, Television, and Video Production Ghosted Digital Photography

GALLERY

ASHLEIGH SCHRUM, SOPHOMORE Major: Media Communications Doggo Digital Photography

MAYRA SHERMAN, JUNIOR Major: Graphic Design Untitled Digital Photography

GALLERY

In Her Element Samantha Kruse

Kruse shows off her molecular model.

S

Researcher and Chemist On the Path to Success

ophomore chemistry major, Samantha Kruse, finds herself in her element each time she is working in the lab alongside her peers and professors.

Kruse’s love for chemistry didn’t just start in college, but rather in her early high school years with the aid of her chemistry teacher.

“In high school, I was actually a lab assistant for three years for my chemistry teacher and she taught me a bunch of techniques and stuff,” Kruse says.

Now Kruse has moved on to publishing her first research paper alongside Professor Groeneman, presenting all of their research on the different crystal formations they have been creating and closely monitoring since August of 2018.

Kruse is specifically working towards creating new co-crystals based on halogen bonds. Halogen bonds occur when there is an attraction between the electrophilic region of one atom and the nucleophilic region of another atom.

Groeneman first noticed what a diligent student Kruse was her freshman year of college when she tested out of a beginner’s chemistry course into a senior level one instead.

“She was in my organic chemistry class last year and she was a fantastic student, so I extended an offer for her to join my research group, which she accepted,” Groeneman says.

When Kruse agreed to join Groeneman’s research group she did not know exactly what she was getting herself into.

“He [Groeneman] was like, ‘you’re an outstanding student why don’t you join my team for research?’ and that’s how it got started,” Kruse says. “I had no clue what he did for research so it was a lot to learn.”

“The whole thing of

chemistry and what’s cool about it is we can modify things to make them work the way we want them to work.

Samantha Kruse Kruse says her favorite aspect of chemistry is looking at what chemists and other scientists have done in the past and trying it a different way.

Peter Conowall, senior chemistry major, met Kruse in the same class as

Groeneman met her for the first time, organic chemistry.

Conowall says Kruse’s drive helps him to stay motivated and focused on his studies.

“I sometimes struggle with motivation and she’s such a motivated student and very intelligent.

Definitely kind of helps keep me on track sometimes,” Conowall says.

While for some people the end result is the best part, Kruse enjoys the process just as much as the final product.

“It’s a fun process sitting there and waiting for results to come back,” Kruse says. “Like if something’s not been working out the way you want it to and it just finally goes together.

Honestly, I think it’s better than Christmas Day.” Kruse hopes to eventually go to graduate school and get her PhD in chemistry where she will continue her focus on organic chemistry.

“There are so many things that interest me in the field that I feel like no matter where I go, I feel like I’m going to be passionate about it,” Kruse says. “And I’m going to excel.”

STORY & photo BY maddy dixon 33 PROFILE

DRAG

by

NIGHT STORY & PHOTO BY MACKENZIE DEVERS

Moxxi Mayhem

Glitter to Gore. A competition of creativity pouring out of St. Louis into Attitudes Nightclub that challenges drag queens on their costumes, makeup, dancing and lip-syncing. With each week bearing a specific sub theme to the overall arching “Glitter and Gore” masterpiece, the queens are pushed to craft unimaginable, and certainly beautiful costumes that deserve a great deal of recognition alone. Add in some hip thrusting and neck flossing, and you’ve got yourself a fantastic show.

S

ide stage, the queens are all done up awaiting their performance in this week’s theme: Feast of Blood. If you’ve ever been to a drag show, queens tend to be all done up with feminine, silhouette hugging, glitterful and glamorous get up’s.

These queens, however, were strewn with gaping wounds, blood and guts that splattered throughout the crowd.

Standing out from the ocean of drag queens was Webster Universities very own Patrick Rausch, better known within the drag community as Moxxi Mayhem.

Raised deep in the boot heels of Missouri, Rausch has transformed himself from a small town guy into a majestic creature of the forest.

Rausch is a fourth year game design student, specializing in level design and environmental art.

“I basically create the 3D objects that you see in games,” Rausch explains. “I apply the textures to them and then I place them in the level, make it looked very dynamic and lived in, make it come alive basically.”

Rausch came across a love from drag when he and his roommate, TK Mays, also known professionally as drag queen Tiki Vontay, started getting into amateur nights at Woody’s in Soulard. Rausch dabbled with personas such as Patty Cakes and Anita Cigarette before debuting Moxxi Mayhem at Webster’s own drag ball in 2017.

Keeping a natural vision for detail

from game design, Rausch carries this skill into drag from makeup to costume design.

Moxxi Mayhem is an “art of itself ” describing herself as a party goblin.

Pointed ears, a full and colored facial beard, along with an “XX” drawn on her right cheek creates Moxxi’s overall signature look.

“People were like, oh, I really like the ears, so I started to develop the tagline of being a party goblin,” Mayhem says. “So pretty much I’m just there to turn the party, get weird, act stupid, all the fixings.”

Whether it’s making weird noises, creeping around the club, or rocking

“

I just really like having a beard...It’s so fun and I also look like an adult so I don’t get carded for cigarettes.

But on top of that it’s my way of saying that some women can have beards.

Hairy women exist.

PATRICK RAUSCH a luscious beard, Mayhem does and looks however she wants, just as long as she’s entertaining.

“I just really like having a beard,” Mayhem says. “It’s so fun and I also look like an adult so I don’t get carded for cigarettes. But on top of that it’s my way of saying that some women can have beards. Hairy women exist.”

Other entertainers within the drag community have taken notice of Mayhem’s playful outlook on gender, as she floats around in the spectrum whilst choosing to accentuate all her greatest features.

When it comes to costumes, Mayhem’s dark yet enchanting style is top of the line, creatively crafted with an inexpensive price tag.

“A lot of what drag is going into these thrift stores, getting some really cheap outfits that other people might find super tacky, but you can be like, this would look good with this and then you just pop on a bunch of rhinestones and just make it look like a million bucks.”

Moxxi passes on her confidence to people who don’t feel as if they can succeed within drag, whether they feel self-conscious about their looks or creativity.

“I’m just like, ‘girl, I’m a Goblin and if I can get bookings as a Goblin, you can get bookings as a gorgeous woman or whatever you choose to present yourself as,’” Mayhem says.

Her goal is to inspire others with drag, and breaking the boundaries of gender norms.

Ever since I started performing in the club scene again, I’ve had a lot of entertainers that I’ve been working with who have been coming up to me to say, ‘hey, I really like the gender fuckery that you’ve been doing and all the gender queerness that’s been going on and I think it’s really cool what you’re doing,” Rausch says.

35 PROFILE

the revival of STORY By christina raymo & hayley abshear PHOTO BY CHRISTINA RAYMO

You are at a theater show at Webster. The stage is the same floor that you’re seated on.

When the show begins, the actors flow out, landing about one foot in front of your seat.

They are screaming, cursing, and there’s blood. There’s loud laughter and dramatic sobbing.

You see one person from your psychology class who is playing a murderer, and another you know from the Webster conservatory who is delivering a perfect monologue.

CULTURE 36

PING!

O

nly at a PING! performance can all of this coexist. PING!, the lively student club on campus consists of students of all majors who have a passion for acting, singing and dancing. The students have the passion, and PING! is the vehicle in which they can express it without actually studying it in their major.

“My favorite aspect would have to be the comradery of everything,” Dylan McDonald, a Scriptwriting major alum who was in PING!, says. “It just felt like another family to me going in.”

PING! was officially founded in early 2017 in the hopes of having a place in Webster for students to express themselves with performance. The club was formed shortly after some students came together and decided they wanted to put on a show of their own, the 1974 classic “Rocky Horror Picture Show”, in Fall of 2015. They later went on to do “Heathers The Musical”, “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” and most recently “Carrie The Musical.”

While at Webster, McDonald was in multiple PING! performances. As a student not in the conservatory, he still feels that the shows he did while in PING! holds a special place in his heart, especially Spelling Bee.

“

It just has a special place in my heart,” McDonald says. “I really love all the characters. I love the story.

I love that even though it’s about kids, it tackles real issues and it really shows how parents affect their children.

DYLAN MCDONALD The conservatory at Webster has an extensive process of education that requires a lot of hard work and especially time. The students in the conservatory that are a part of non-acting majors don’t get the opportunity to audition for performance roles. But with PING!, they do.

Tyler Woods is a Dramaturgy Studies major who was in the most recent production of “Carrie The Musical.” He played one of the jock characters, George.

“My favorite aspect of PING! is how anyone can audition,” Woods says.

“Being apart of the conservatory, I knew getting into it that I couldn’t audition for performances with my degree. It’s nice to be able to

perform and exercise the skills I’ve learned in my classes through the conservatory.”

In it’s toddler years, the group dealt with a conflict of poor management.

When they got another manager, the cast didn’t connect with the leadership. However, they still wanted to keep the thing going.

They felt it was something they should not let die. With new management as of Fall 2018, PING! Is not only back up again, but it’s starting to pick up steam, with more attention from the students who would attend, as well as the students all over campus who want to perform.

“I hope to see it expand,” Woods says. “I would want people to know about PING! is that not only does it give you an opportunity to perform, but also develop relationships and make friends.”

McDonald hopes the same for the group.

“I want more people to be involved because it’s kind of a small group,” McDonald says.

There is a core group of ten to fifteen people that participates in PING!.

I think it’d be cooler if more people knew about us and more people were auditioning for our shows. It’s always nice to see new faces.”

37 CULTURE

“

Voices Ampersand staff weighs in on the things we care about

Why fear the fat?

In the late 1900s, the market was plagued by aisles of food marketed to be reduced fat. Fat was the enemy, fat made you fat, and thus was born the low-fat craze. Many innocent food items were harmed by this new fad diet, including yogurt. There are also certain vitamins, A, D, E, and K, that are only fat soluble which means that without consuming fat with them, these important nutrients are not absorbed. Also, when food companies remove fat from a product, they have to add more sugar to compensate for flavor. Half the fat? Try twice the sugar. Unfortunately, the damage had already been done and yogurt was turned from a healthy, nutrient dense, filling breakfast food, to a blood sugar spiking dessert.

Besides making food taste good, fat adds substance to a meal by keeping you full for longer. This prevents you from overeating later. But when companies remove this satiating element, that have to replace it with sugar to be palatable for consumers.

These added amounts of simple carbohydrates are quickly absorbed into the bloodstream and cause spikes in your blood sugar. But when full fat yogurt is consumed, the fat VOICES 38

helps the sugar absorb more slowly and steadily over a longer period of time. So eating low fat yogurt can lead to insulin resistance over time and eventually weight gain if consumed regularly. A 2016 study showed that women who eat high fat dairy products actually reduced their risk of being overweight or obese by 8 percent.

In addition to being filling, healthy fats can also improve cholesterol proportions by raising HDL (high density lipoprotein), and lowering LDL (low density lipoprotein).

By improving this proportion, people can decrease their risk of cardiovascular disease. Dairy fat has also been proven to improve metabolic health by reducing fasting blood glucose levels and improving glucose tolerance. This also is beneficial for diabetics. But it’s more than just the fat in full fat yogurt.

This tasty food also contains many anti inflammatory fatty acids, some of which can even turn back time on your youth. The fat in full fat dairy products, including yogurt, also aids lactose intolerant people with digesting the lactose.

Next time you’re in the grocery store being tempted by the marketing

BY Eugene Trinklein

tactics of reduced fat goods, think again! Full fat dairy products are satiating, help absorb fat-soluble vitamins, lower the risk of obesity, lower risks of Type 2 diabetes,

“

Next time you’re in the grocery store being tempted by the marketing tactics of reduced fat goods, think again! improve cholesterol proportions, reduce risk of cardiovascular disease, and even leave you with more youthful radiant skin. When manufacturers remove these healthy fats, they have to replace it with sugar to make it more palatable for consumers. This turns yogurt from a filling food, to something equivalent to that tub of ice cream in your freezer. By switching to full fat yogurt, you can taste the difference, and feel the difference.

s

Tech babies: pacifier or tablet?

BY Mackenzie Devers

Long live the good ole’ days when children were free. The days when imagination flourished within books, and creativity came about when making up new games and dance routines. Smelling of dirt, grass, and sweat will forever tingle my senses and bring me back to those days of pure joy. The missed feeling of wind rushing through my hair while cruising on my bike with

my squad of neighbors confirmed that life could never get any better than that.

Being stuck inside while watching television or playing on the computer was never my idea of fun.

I played soccer until the sun went down, jumped on the trampoline until I could not physically stand any longer, and sometimes would even take my artistic abilities to the wallpaper of the living room.

The world was our playground and we never stopped for a second.

Unfortunately, children these days may never experience such joys for they have found a new profound interest in screen time.

While technology has rapidly grown and children (and parents) have embraced it so quickly, even the tiniest of humans are becoming slaves to the screen. I see parents hand over their phone sometimes as an easy way out, a way to quiet their child— and it works 100% of

the time.

As I watch kids now, especially my own niece and nephew, one thing that really stuns me is their fascination and competency with these devices. These 2-5 year olds know how to navigate through YouTube and pull up their favorite videos (do they even know how to read yet?)

Research on the effect technology has on adolescents is starting to become more relevant, and highlights only negative consequences such as sleep disorders and poor social skills.

I’m sure within the next decade the scientific community will have a greater understanding on the impacts of growing with technology, but for now we don’t know.

I hope that those who choose to bring life into this world can let their little one’s minds grow before handing them over a phone. Let the children live, create, and imagine.

Crochet isn’t just for grandmas can make hats, scarves, blankets, stuffed animals, washcloths, koozies, and so much more pretty easily.

It may seem daunting at first to step away from the basic square washcloth or rectangle scarf into the land of circles and triangles. That first “decrease” or “increase” might feel weird and you question if you are doing it right, just continue. It’s a wonder how things always end up working out (but don’t worry if it does not, it is really easy to undo

BY Carolynne Barrow your work and fix it).

Your friendly neighborhood college If you keep your hands busy with grandmother is here to tell you why your hook and yarn, you do not feel you should pick up crochet. I learned like you are wasting so much time to crochet after I learned to knit, and binging Netflix. At the end of your now having experience with both I binge you will be that much further can tell you definitively that crochet along on your project, if you are not is so much easier than knitting, also already done. Some teachers may it is faster. But this isn’t about why also let you crochet during their four you should pick up crochet instead of hour night classes (or three hour knitting, this is about why you should night classes, or any class really), pick it up at all. because if you, like me, have trouble For starters, crochet is versatile. You sitting still and focusing for a long

time it really helps to keep your hands busy.

We can also bring in the medical side of things, crochet (and knitting) are great for your health and can help slow memory loss as you age.

When you crochet, there are a lot of repetitive movements you do, which can be useful for relaxation and reducing anxiety and panic attacks.

Finally, one of the greatest reasons to pick up crochet is that it is cost effective. You can make a scarf or hat with one ball or skein of yarn, and a skein of yarn can be as cheap as $2-$3. If you want to give it as a gift, that is a $2-$3 gift. But in the end you will have a homemade blanket to warm you up and show off, even if you have to splurge on some more expensive yarn. If you end up loving crochet, you could even start selling your wares and make money.

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